Weekly Update November 4, 2024

Coming up this Month: November Edition

Baseball: Dodgers are World Series Champs in Game 5. Freeman was MVP – duh!

Basketball: NCAAM and NCAAW start today! 2 undefeated teams in the NBA left. Other quick NBA headlines.

Football – NCAAF: 7 losses in the Top 25 including 4 to unranked teams and 3 undefeated teams lose. CFP ranking this week.

Football – NFL: 7 close games. Jets stop their slide.

Motorsports: Verstappen came back to win after the Sprint race to take the Brazilian GP.

Olympic Sports: Shaun White engaged. NYC marathon first time winners. USA Figure Skater gets FRA title. USATF includes Paralympians now.

Coming up this month: November

NYC Marathon 11/3, NCAAM&W season begins 11/4- 3/16/25, NBA Cup 11/12- 12/17, F1: Las Vegas GP 11/21-23

Baseball – MLB:

• World Series Game 3 started just like Games 1 and 2. The Dodgers scored first with 2 in the 1^st inning by who else, Freeman. They continued to pile on with 1 in the 3^rd and another in the 6^th. The yanks would finally put up a 2-run HR in the 9^th but the damage was done. Dodgers were just 1 win away with an easy win in Game 3. The last 9 teams who started 3-0 won in a sweep.

• The Yankees had to win Game 4 to avoid the sweep. It didn’t look good with another Freeman 2-run HR in the 1^st. I kid you not! He was the first player to hit a HR in 6 straight WS post season games. But the Yankees finally responded. They got a rally going in the 2^nd to bring one around the bases. Then in the 3^rd, Volpe hit a grand slam to take the lead 5-2. The Dodgers put up 2 in the 5^th but that was it and the Yankees took out some of their frustration. NY would have a 5-run 8^th inning to win 11-4 and stay alive for another night.

• It looked like the tide had turned in that game as well. The Yankees continued their momentum into Game 5 with Aaron Judge finally getting a HR. They would throw up 5 runs in 3 innings to take a commanding lead. No team had ever come back from 0-5 in a clinching game. But in the 5^th, the Dodgers got a rally going and put up 5 to tie it back up! NY and Staton answered in the 6^th to add 1 and take the lead back. But 2 sacrificial flies in the 8^th by LA would put the nail in the NY coffin. This one hurts as NY won all the stats with more hits, 3 HRs (compared to 0), 19 total bases (compared to 8) and 12 runner left on base (compared to 10). Dodgers win the world series in comeback fashion 7-6.
• Freddie Freeman was the WS MVP – no one should be surprised there.

Basketball:

• After the opening few weeks in the NBA, there are only 2 undefeated teams left. The OKC Thunder hold that honor in the Western Conference while the Cavaliers are undefeated in the Eastern Conference. That is their first 5-0 start since 2016 for CLE. The Utah Jazz is the only team yet to win one.
  • The Lakers took their first loss of the season on Monday
• In Saturday’s loss, 76ers star Joel Embiid got in locker room altercation. He shoved a reporter who had critical things to say about him in the preseason. TBD if that is why the shoving occurred and we don’t know what the penalty will be for Embiid as most of the time these types of disputes aren’t physical.
• Christian Braun and Rudy Gobert get into it after Braun dunked on Rudy. Rudy was also given a flagrant foul for elbow Jokic in the same game. MN did get the win over the Nuggets though.

• Spurs star Wemby struggled against Thunder with a career low 6 points in Wednesday’s game. Thunder won 105-93.
• NCAAM: 200 games today!

Football-NCAAF:

• Week 10 Top 25 Upsets. 7 in the top 25 including 4 to unranked teams and 3 undefeated teams go down.
  • Ryan day maybe been 0-5 against top 5 teams but not anymore! No matter how good Penn State is they can’t seem to do it against Ohio state. They started off well being up 10-0 but then they gave it all back and more. Buckeyes had a great 4th and goal stop in  the final 6min. That was the second 1st and goal stop of the game. James Franklin is now 1-14 against Top 5 teams and this was his 8th straight to Ohio St.

• • #10 Texas A&M played at South Carolina this weekend who is sneaky. Que the battered aggie syndrome! Aggies RB Moss got knocked out of the game and after  that the run game stalled for Texas A&M. Also the Aggies were majorly hit hard with penalties. It was 20-20 at half and the Aggies had momentum. Although the 3rd and 4th & shorts were getting them into trouble.  But after that it was all gamecocks. They finally pull off the upset after  being close so many times all season. SC 44-20.
  • #11 undefeated Iowa State might have won the stat battle but that doesn’t matter without the W. Texas Tech went up 10-3 but Iowa state fought back. The cyclones had the lead with a TD in the final 2:11 but the Red Raiders scored with 20 seconds left to win by 1.

• • #11 Clemson lost to Louisville, who was 0-8 against Clemson in program history. Despite Clemson putting up the 1st TD of that game that was really the only thing that went right for them. They would have at least 2 missed or blocked FGs. Louisville would win 33-21 and get themselves back in the top 25. Clemson fans threw debris on the field when they didnt like a call oh and they did not get it overturned. Louisville scored on the next play.
  • #17 Kansas state was playing Houston close only leading by 9 as the 3Q came to a close (considering that the line was 12.5). But the 4Q was all cougs. Who get their Highest ranked win for since 2017 with a final score of 24-19.

• • #20 SMU dominated #18 undef Pitt. It was all SMU all game. The ponies threw up 24 points in the 2Q alone. And cont to roll winning 48-25/ another undefe team goes down.
  • #24 Illinois was still in the rankings after losing last week but they won’t be after this one. Minnesota led or was tied with them the entire game until 9 min left in the 4Q when Illinois scored a TD to go up by 1. The golden gophers only needed 7 plays to go 75 yards and score again. Mn wins 25-17.

• Some scaries that shouldn’t have been:
  • #2 Georgia continues to struggle with turnovers. QB Carson Beck threw another 3 INTs and Florida’s starting QB went out of the game and was carted off the field in the 1H. Florida was leading 10-3 when they had to go to their third string QB. The Gators were still up 13-3 at half. The Gators 2H possessions didn’t really go anywhere with 4 3& outs, 2 turnovers and a TD. In contrast Georgia hit their stride after the first possession was an INT. after that the dawgs got going. UGA escapes 34-20.
  • The #5 Miami score looks way better than it looked. Duke had Miami on the ropes , leading by 11 in the 3Q and then only trailing by 1 point in the 4Q but Miami then turned it on, scoring 21 points in the 4Q to win 53-31. Duke also had 4 turnovers in this game as well. Manny Diaz does not get revenge on his old team.

• • #7 Tennessee was trailing Kentucky for the entire 1H but then the Vols finally got rolling in the 3Q scoring 14. Good thing too because Kentucky wasn’t done scoring. Tennessee beats Kentucky 28-18.
  • #13 Indiana was down 0-10 to start their game but then went on and scored 47 straight points to easily beat Michigan State.
• Shoutouts:
  • #19 Ole Miss finally looked like the team we thought they would should be. They killed Arkansas 63-31.

• Unranked quick highlights:
  • Nebraska lose to a bad UCLA team by a TD after almost beating Ohio State the week before. Talk about a let down.
  • UNC got their first win over Florida State under Mac Brown. They beat them badly 35-11. Yikes!
  • Speaking of yikes, Navy who hadn’t lost until last week against Notre Dame, now lost again. This week it was to Rice – ugh! Rice outscored Navy 24-10 after a long weather delay.
  • Wisconsin got their ass kicked after they seemed to have turn the corner. Not this week. Iowa put up 42 against the Badgers who could only score 10.
  • Washington had USC in hand, leading 20-7 at half. But the Trojans came back scoring 14 in the 3Q. The Huskies held USC twice in the 4Q to keep the W.
  • Syracuse beat Vtech in OT.
  • Northwestern beat Purdue in OT as well

•  Rankings:
  • The only undefeated teams left: Oregon, Miami, BYU, Indiana, Army,
  • Vandy and Louisville are both back in the rankings. But the CFP ranking comes out tomorrow!

Football – NFL:

• Wrapping up week 8 MNF: The Giants and Steelers were tied at 9 apiece at halftime. But the 2H was when the Steelers and Russell Wilson found their groove. Pitt would go on to win 26-18.

• The Jets snapped their 5 game losing streak by winning on TNF over the Texans. Despite not scoring any points in the 1H, it was all Jets in the 2H putting up 3 TDs. The Texans only managed to get in the endzone once and add 2 FGs in the 2H.

• There were 7 close games this weekend (week 9):
  • The Falcons put up 7 in each Q except the final one (6) to beat the Cowboys by 6. Coach Mike McCarthy was pissed as the Dallas team is now 3-5 and this was their 3^rd straight loss.
  • The Bills/Dolphins game was a good one! It was very even stats wise and score wise. We were tied at 3 different points in this game including 2 in the 4Q. But the Bills nailed a 61 yard FG as time expired to win by 3.
  • The Commanders got a good lead in the 1H and never gave it back to the Giants. The NY team did manage to score 12 in the final Q to make the game closer but it was not. Commanders win 27-22.

• • In the race for the bottom, the Panthers manage to get their 2^nd win of the year! They beat the Saints by 1.

• • The Eagles were leading 16-0 at halftime over the Jags but Jacksonville put up 16 points in the 3Q alone to bring the game back in hand. The Jags were driving in the final 2 minutes of the game and in the redzone. But Trevor Lawrence threw up a pass in the endzone and it was picked off. The Eagles seal the win by 5.

• Two games went into OT
  • The Titans looked like they were going to win after they scored their last TD in the final 5 minutes. But Pats QB Drake Maye scrambled around as time ran out on the clock but managed to get a pass up and tie the game with a TD! We head to OT. The Titans only managed a FG but the Pats threw an interception to end the game and give TN their 2^{nd win.} 

• • Gino Smith threw 3 INT in their game against the Rams to keep the LA team in the game. Despite that, the Seahawks still managed to tie up the game with a TD in the final minute of the game. They couldn’t do anything with it in OT though and the Rams only needed 4 plays to go 83 yards to score and take the win.

• The not so close ones:
  • The Bears are winless on the road and this week was no different. The Cardinals put them away 29-9.
  • The Ravens manhandled the Broncos who only managed to score 10 points total in the entire game and all in the 2Q. Baltimore wins 41-10.
  • The Packers would only have FGs until the final 1 minute of their game against the Lions. Detroit managed to have 24 points in the middle 2 Qs to take the win 24-14.

• SNF: The Vikings stopped their 2-game slide beating the Colts 21-13 with all their points in the 2H. It wasn’t a cake walk though as they trailed 7-0 at half and had 3 turnovers in this game. Helps that the Colts also had 2 and twice they were given back to the other team. WR Addison had an amazing one handed catch in the endzone – absolutely beautiful.

• The Saints have fired their HC Dennis Allen. They have just lost their 7th game in a row. Allen’s overall record with the team since 2022 was 18-25.

• Standings: The Cheifs are the only undefeated team left and thus top the AFC. The Bills sit in 2nd with 7 wins and 2 losses. In the NFC, the Lions sit on top with 7 wins 1 loss and the Commanders are nipping at their heels with 7 wins and 2 losses. They havent seen that good of a start since 1996! There are 9 teams that are all at 2 wins.

Motorsports:

• Norris won the Sprint race n Saturday in Brazil to cut Vertappen’s lead to 44 points for the championship. However then Max took off on Sunday. Despite qualifying in 17^th with his penalty, Verstappen made up 6 places on the opening lap. The rain also played a part as it continued to get heavier during the race and a badly timed put stop screwed Norris after a crash caused a red flag. You are allowed to change tyres during a red flag which Verstappen did and he didn’t have to pit to do it. Verstappen was not to be denied as he won the race by 19 seconds and set 17 fastest laps during the race. He is notoriously good in wet conditions and is now in a comfortable lead for the championship.

Olympic Sports:

• Sorry ladies, Shaun White is officially off the market. He proposed to his 5-year long gf, Nina Dobrev from the Vampire Diaries.
• The male and female winner of the NYC marathon was a first timer. Abdi Nageeye and Shelia Chepkirui both out kicked the rest of the field in the final mile. Nageeye did it in the final 100m to win by 6 seconds. Chepkirui only started running marathons in 2022!

• USA Amber Glenn might have fallen in the free skate on her triple flip but that didn’t matter, she was in such a lead after her short program, helps when it is the highest score ever set by an American in international competition with a 78.14. It was enough to claim her first GP title in France. She even put her hand down on two other jumps in her free skate too. Talk about a comeback.
• USATF will now bring the US Paralympic track and field athletes all under its jurisdiction. Paris saw the USATF athlete bring home 34 medals, 14 gold and the Paralympians brought home 38 with 10 golds. They are the 17^th NGB to combine the two.

What to watch this week

Basketball – NBA:

• Wed 11/6
  • Warriors at Celtics @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • 76ers at Clippers @ 9pm on ESPN
• Fri 11/8
  • Suns at Mavericks @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • 76ers at Lakers @ 9pm on ESPN

NCAAM: (only ranked teams and on normal TV)

• Mon 11/4
  • Texas A&M CC at 14. Purdue @ 5pm on BTN
  • Maine at 7. Duke @ 6pm on ACC
  • Wright State at 23. Kentucky @ 6pm on ESPNU
  • Stony Brook at 18. Marquette @ 7:30pm on FS1
  • South Florida at 21. Florida @ 7:30pm on SEC
  • UNC Asheville at 2. Alabama @ 8pm on ESPNU
  • Elon at 9. UNC @ 8pm on ACC
  • 19. Texas at Ohio St @ 9pm on TNT
  • Rider at 22. UCLA @ 9:30pm on FS1
  • 8. Baylor at 6. Gonzaga @ 10:30pm on ESPN2
• Wed 11/6
  • Wagner at 25. Rutgers @ 5pm on BTN
  • Sacred Heart at 3. UConn @ 6pm on FS1
  • SIU Edwards at 17. Indiana @ 7pm on BTN
• Fri 11/8
  • Army at 7. Duke @ 5pm on ACC
  • 9. UNC at 1. Kansas @ 6pm on ESPN2
  • Grambling at 24. Ole Miss @ 6pm on SEC
  • New Mexico at 22. UCLA @ 10pm on CBSSN
• Sat 11/9
  • 12. Tennessee at Louisville @ 11am on ACC
  • 8. Baylor at 16. Arkansas @ 6:30pm on ESPNU
  • 11. Auburn at 4. Houston @ 8:30pm on ESPNU
• Sun 11/10
  • Arizona St at 6. Gonzaga @ 4pm on ESPN
  • Fairleigh Dickinson at 15. Creighton @ 4pm on FS1

NCAAW: (ranked vs ranked only)

• Sun 11/10
  • 11. Duke at 18. Maryland @ 12pm on FS1
  • 9. NC St at 1. South Carolina @ 2pm on ESPN

Football – NCAAF:

• Tues 11/5
  • CFP Ranking Show @ 6pm on ESPN

Top 25
Week 11
Top 25 Games
Visitor	Home	Day	Time (CT)	TV	Line
2. Georgia	16. Ole Miss	Sat 11/9	2:30 PM	ABC	UGA -2.5
Michigan	8. Indiana	Sat 11/9	2:30 PM	CBS	IU -14
21. Colorado	Texas Tech	Sat 11/9	3:00 PM	FOX	CU -3.5
South Carolina	24. Vanderbilt	Sat 11/9	3:15 PM	SEC	SC -3.5
11. Alabama	14. LSU	Sat 11/9	6:30 PM	ABC	Bama -2.5
*GameDay indicated in bold*

Football – NFL:

• Mon 11/4
  • Bucs at Chiefs @ 7:15pm on ESPN & ABC
• Thurs 11/7
  • Bengals at Ravens @ 7:15pm on Prime
• Sun 11/10
  • Munich: Giants at Panthers @ 8:30am on NFL
  • 7 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX
    • CBS: Bills at Colts, Broncos at Chiefs, Steelers at Commanders
    • FOX: Patriots at Bears, Falcons at Saints, 49ers at Bucs, Vikings at Jags
  • Titans at Chargers @ 3:05pm on FOX
  • Eagles at Cowboys – or – Jets at Cardinals @ 3:25pm on CBS
  • Lions at Texans @ 7:20pm on NBC
• Mon 11/12
  • Dolphins at Rams @ 7:15pm on ESPN
• Byes: Browns, Packers, Raiders, Seahawks

Golf:

• Thurs 11/7
  • World Wide Technologies Championship – Round 1 @ 1pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 11/8
  • World Wide Technologies Championship – Round 2 @ 1pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 11/9
  • World Wide Technologies Championship – Round 3 @ 1pm on Golf Channel
• Sun 11/10
  • World Wide Technologies Championship – Final Round @ 1pm on Golf Channel

Hockey:

• Wed 11/6
  • Red Wings at Blackhawks @ 7pm on TNT
• Thurs 11/7
  • Flyers at Lightning @ 6:30pm on hulu
• Fri 11/8
  • Penguins at Capitals @ 6:30pm on hulu

Soccer:

• Mon 11/4
  • Premier League: Fulham vs Brentford @ 2pm on USA
• Sat 11/9
  • Premier League: Crystal Palace vs Fulham @ 9am on USA
  • NWSL: KC Current vs NC Courage @ 11am on CBS
  • Premier League: Brighton vs Manchester City @ 11:30am on USA
• Sun 11/10
  • Premier League: Tottenham vs Ipswitch Town @ 8am on USA
  • NCAAW ACC Championship @ 11am on ESPNU
  • NCAAW: Big East Championship @ 10am on FS1
  • Premier League: Chelsea vs Arsenal @ 10:30am on USA
  • NCAAW: Big 12 Championship @ 1pm on ESPNU