Weekly Update October 14, 2024

Baseball: Finishing out the first round. 2 went to Game 5s. Game 1 NLCS.

Football – NCAAF: 4 losses in Top 25 but plenty of close games! Lots of scaries that shouldn’t have been.

Football – NFL: Only 4 close games.  Ravens vs Commanders QB showdown. Jets fired HC.

Golf: McCarty wins first PGA Tour event.

Olympic Sports: Marathon WR. Lyles engaged. India cleans up at Table Tennis.

Tennis: Nadal retires.

Quick Headlines: NHL’s female coach. Shiffrin to skip downhills. IT Luna Rossa wins Women’s American Cup. WNBA moving to 7 game series.

Baseball – MLB:

• First round: Monday started off a lot like last week ended. Both ALDS series were split upon Game 2 conclusions.
  • The Tigers had a 3-run HR and that was the only score in Monday’s game. Tigers tie up the Guardians in Game 2. Believe it or not, that was also the same score on Wed for Game 3. Tigers take 2-1 series lead. Game 4 was more entertaining and back and forth. Cleveland scored first in the 1^st. Detroit answered in the 2^nd. Guardians got a HR in the 5^th, Det got a HR in the bottom of the 5^th. Tigers added another in the 6^th and Guardians added a 2-run HR to take the lead back in the 7^th. The 9^th had a score apiece but that was enough to keep Cleveland 1 up and get the W. Series tied again and we go to a winner-take-all game 5. In a kids dream scenario, Thomas hit a Grand Slam for the Guardians in the 5^th inning which was enough to beat the Tigers. Final score was 7-3. Guardians advance!

• • The Royals tied the series up in Game 2, winning 4-2 after a 4-run 4^th That was all they needed to top the Yankees to start the week. Game 3 was closer. Yankees started it off with a run in the 4^th and 5^th and the Royals answered with 2 in the 5^th to tie it back up. We looked like we might be headed to extra innings until the 8^th. Stanton hit a 417 foot HR to seal the Yankee win. Game 4 was a pitching masterclass by Yankees star Cole who kept the Royals off the board until the 6^th. The Yankees tacked 1 on in the 1^st and 1 in the 5^th along with 1 in the 6^th. That was all that was needed. Yankees win the series 3-2 and advance.

• Game 3 of the Mets/Phillies matchup was allllll Mets. They started with a run in the 2^nd and tacked on 5 unanswered more runs before the Phillies would do anything. Phili did put up 2 in the 8^th but it wasn’t enough, Mets take the series lead 7-2. Game 4 only had 2 times that we saw scores on the board. The Phillies got 1 in the 4^th but the Mets star Francisco Lindor got a grand slam in the 6^th to win and advance his team to the NLCS game for the first time since 2015 when they won the pennant.

• Game 3 of the California battle (Padres vs Dodgers) was a good one early. You would not be disappointed if you left early. Dodgers drew first blood in 1^st with 1 but the Padres answered in a big way getting a nice rally going and ending it with a 2-run HR for a 6-run 2^nd The Dodgers answered that with a grand slam in the 3^rd but that was it as far as scoring went so the Dodgers fell 1 run short. Padres lead series 2-1. Game 4 was alllll Dodgers though. Things started early and never got better from there for the San Diego team. Dodgers started 1, 2, 2 in the first 3 innings. They would add 3 more in the 7^th to shutout the Padres 8-0. Series tied! That started a streak that was bad news for the Padres. The Dodgers won the winner-take-all Game 5 2-0. I wouldn’t want to be the team that plays them!

• NLCS Game 1: We’ve only had one Championship Series game and here’s the streak for the Dodgers. They have not allowed a run in 33 consecutive innings. Yep they beat the Mets 9-0 on Sunday to take Game 1 and make a strong case for the WS matchup.

Football-NCAAF:

• Week 7 Top 25 Upsets: 4 games went to OT. Most in single day since 1996 when OT started.
  • It was as awesome and should’ve been a rose bowl 2 Ohio St vs 3 Oregon. Basically looked like if a team got a stop, they would win. Only once did the same team score back to back. So many of the stats were close. Each team only punted 3xs all game. But Ore played a clean game and got big plays when they needed it. They got an onside kick in 12m left in 1H. Oregon went up by 1 with 1:47 to go. Ohio St just needed a FG and had plenty of time to do it (and a TO). But a costly offensive PI call cost precious time along with what might’ve been a ‘too many men on the field’ penalty by Oregon. That is still under speculation but either way it did take precious time off the clock. Then the buckeyes QB Howard ran for a first down but the clock ran out during that play. Game over. Ducks upset bucks by 1.
    • Super random, didn’t know that you could get ejected automatically for spitting on a player. Oregon’s Holden spit on Ohio State and was immediately ejected.

• • Late night game in Death Valley #9 Ole miss to #13 LSU. Slower start than I expected points wise with none in the 1Q. The 2Q both teams got going putting up a combined 30 points. Two long picks back-to-back. LSU ties the game in the final 30 sec. Off to OT. Ole Miss nails a 57 yard FG in OT but LSU needed only one play to score a TD to win by 3. Never led for a sec until the end. Bryan Kelly is now 13-0 when playing at night in death valley. 

• • Only unranked upset of the week. 16 Utah got cam rising back and you could tell he hadn’t played in a bit. He threw 3 int and Arizona state scored a TD in each Q to upset the Utes 27-19
  • This next one hurts me but my hand doesn’t go that way. But 1 Texas def beat 18 Oklahoma. Hard to win a game with no offense. Oklahoma played them close in the 1Q but two costly back to back turnovers added insult to injury just before half. Ou did not score a TD. Texas wins 34-3.

• Some scaries that shouldn’t have been:
  • #4 Penn State traveled across the country to LA to play USC. USC had their number early up 20-6 at half. The first scoring drive after the half ended with a Penn St TD of the Center snapping the ball and then catching the TD pass in a trick play. The Nittany Lions then proceeded to come back in the 2H scoring double digits in both Qs to tie it up and take this game to OT. USC missed their 45 yard FG but Penn State made their 36 yarder to win and stay undefeated. In total Penn St only led for 15 seconds the entire game.

• • #7 Alabama played a tough South Carolina team this week and nearly had another upset. This game was close the entire time. The 4Q is where it got really interesting. Bama was trailing but scored a TD with 10 min left in the game to take the lead 20-19 (missing the 2-point conversion). Bama then scored again with less than 2 min to go, 27-19. South Carolina gets the ball back. They score their TD (originally called incomplete but his foot was down – great body awareness) with 43 seconds left. They have to get the 2-point to tie. But QB Sellers over throws the entire endzone so that’s no good. Now you have to go for the onside kick (43 sec to go). The ball looked like a bar of soap but SC falls on it! They just need a FG to win but they cant do it. They end up throwing an INT in the final 10 sec to seal it. SC had 4 turnovers in this game and just gave Bama the win. Bama escapes! Bama not lost back-to-back games in 207 games (2007).

• • Florida was up 10-0 but had 4 red zone appearances that they only got FG from. That’s a tough stat to have against a Top 10 team and win. Tennessee would tie it up going into the 4Q. The 4Q started with 2 3&outs but Florida’s punt was from their own 3 yard line giving Tennessee great field possession and they would capitalize. Vols up 17-10. We then had 4 punts before Florida would score an unlikely TD in the final 30 seconds of the game. We are all tied and going to OT. Florida missed a 47 yard FG and Tennessee scored a TD to win. Another crazy finish.

• • Colorado hosted #18 Kansas State late on Saturday. And for what started a normal game, K state up 24-14 in the 4Q, the 4Q got crazy. It started with a Colorado INT and you’re like ok here’s where K St blows it open, but they go 3&out and punt the ball back. Colorado then drives down the field 72 yards and scores a TD. They’re only down by 3. K State then gives the ball back to Colorado on their own 17. It only takes Shedeur 2 plays to score a game-leading TD. Buffs up 28-24. But Avery Johnson had something to say about that. It would only take the Wildcats 3 plays to go 84 yards to score their TD to go up 31-28. Colorado would try to score again but get no traction in the final drive and turn it over on downs. K State wins to stay ranked.
  • #23 Illinois was up 24-3 at halftime on Purdue who has been on quit watch the last few weeks. Nothing to see here very normal and expected. But then the Boiler Makers outscored the Illini by 14 in the 3Q alone. They would also put up 23 in the 4Q including a as time expired FG to take this game to OT. Illinois got their TD and extra point. Purdue then got a TD and looked like they would tie it up again but went for the win and two point conversion. That would fail and Illinois escapes what would’ve been an embarrassing loss.
• Shoutouts
  • Cal played another undefeated team, #22 Pitt this week and again played them close. It was 17-9 at half and Pitt wouldn’t score again but it was enough to hold on and keep their undefeated season alive.
  • Liberty is still undefeated despite going into OT with FIU on Tuesday!

•  Rankings:
  • The only undefeated teams left: Texas, Oregon, Penn St, Miami, Iowa St, BYU, Indiana, Pitt, Army, Navy, Liberty

Football – NFL:

• Wrapping up week 5 MNF: Chiefs stay undefeated beating the Saints 26-13. Saint QB Carr went down hurt in this game as well and did not start the next week.
• Super random fact for this week in the NFL, 5 former Oklahoma QBs were starting! TNF had 49er fans being like ‘finally!’ the 49ers looked like their old selves up 16-3 at half. The Seahawks made it interesting in the 3Q to draw within a score but SF piled on in the 4^th to win 36-24.

• There were only 4 close games this weekend (week 6):
  • The Colts/Titans game was back and forth. Only 1 scoring drive was under 10 plays and 3 min of game time. We were tied at the end of 1Q and the end of the 2Q. But the Colts pulled away in the 4Q scoring 10 points to win by 3.
  • The Eagles scored the first 10 points in their game over the Browns but CLE answered with a blocked FG kick return for a TD to end the half tied! But then the Browns would not score another TD and the Eagles would find one more to win by 4.
  • This next game shouldn’t even be in this section. The Chargers were up 23-0 going into the 4Q but the Broncos would try to mount a comeback. Denver put up 16 points in garbage time to make this game closer than it actually was.
  • This game was no surprise that it was close. The Commanders vs Ravens or should I say Daniels vs Jackson. The Commanders scored first with a FG but that was the only time they would have the lead all game. The Ravens had the ball for 36 min of the 60 of game play and won both the running game and the passing game. The Commanders kept it close but would ultimately lose by a TD.

• The not so close ones:
  • The Bears handled the Jags in London, easily winning 35-16. Easy to do when one team only scores 1 TD compared to Chicago’s 5.
  • Speaking of not scoring TDs, the Cowboys never managed to find the endzone only scoring 3 FGs. The Dallas team also had 5 turnovers in this game! In the 2H, the Cowboy drives went like this FG, fumble, INT, INT, fumble. That is not good enough when you play the Lions who scored 47 in Dallas. It wasn’t all good news for Detroit though as they lost one of their best defensive players and Michigan native, Aidan Hutchinson with a broken tibia. TBD on his timeline to return.
  • The Texans went off putting up 41 points on the Patriots to win by 20.
  • The Falcons are continuing their momentum from TNF last week and win again this week. This time it was over the Panthers 38-20.
  • The Saints scored 27 pints in the 2Q alone. Sounds great right?! Except that’s the only points they scored all game. The Bucs hung half a hundred on them, winning 51-27.
  • The Bengals won by 10 in a boring low scoring game over the Giants.

• Jets fired HC Robert Saleh on Tuesday last week. He finished with an overall record of 20-36 and no playoff appearances after coaching there since 2021. That win percentage is the worst for the NY team with any coach in their history who coached 40+ games. DC Jeff Ulbrich will be acting HC.

Golf:

• There was a PGA Tour tournament this weekend (apologies if I missed that it was on TV). It was in Utah for the Black Desert Championship and Matt McCarty won his first PGA Tour title just 3 starts after getting in tour. He was used to winning on the Korn Ferry Tour, winning 3xs last year and thus why he was upgraded to the PGA Tour. While other golfers got close on the final day, McCarty shut down all doubt on the 14^th with an eagle. He also almost got another eagle on the 16^th but settled for birdie to seal it.

Olympic Sports:

• KEN Ruth Chepngetich destroyed the marathon WR by 2 minutes in Chicago this weekend. 2:09.56 is the new mark, breaking the old mark from Berlin 2023 by .03 short of 2 minutes technically. Chicago has done great things for Ruth who won in 2021, 2022 and was runner up last year.
• Noah Lyles proposed to JAM sprinter Junelle Bromfield on Saturday and have been dating since 2022.
• IND cleaned up at the Asian table Tennis Championships with the men’s team winning their 3^rd title and the women placing 3^rd, a historic first for them.

Tennis:

• The King of Clay is retiring. Rafeal Nadal announced his retirement earlier this week. The 38 year old ESP has won 22 Grand Slam titles (2 AUS Open, 16 French Opens, 2 Wimbledons, 4 US Opens). His French Open dominance includes 4 straight twice from 2005-2008 and 2017-2020, and 5 straight 2010-2014. By 2010 he completed the career Grand Slam, the youngest man to do it at age 24. That year he won on 3 different surfaces in one year (aka Surface Slam). He also won the Olympic gold medal in 2008 (Beijing). His overall record is 1010-227 in singles. He is #2 all time on the earners list with $134MM in prize money.

Some quick highlights:

• Jessica Campbell became the first FT woman coach in the NHL when her team, the Kraken started their season last week.
• Mikaela Shiffrin has announced that she will not be competing in any Downhills this season. Following her bad crash last season that cost her the overall title, she will not do the discipline on the World Cup circuit this year.
• ITA Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli won the first ever Women’s American Cup.
• WNBA will be moving to a best of 7 series Final starting next year.

What to watch this week

Baseball – MLB:

• Mon 10/14
  • NLCS – Game 2: Mets at Dodgers @ 4:08pm on FS1
    • LAD leads 1-0
  • ALCS – Game 1: Guardians at Yankees @ 6:38pm on TBS
    • Cobb vs Rodon
• Tues 10/15
  • ALCS – Game 2: Guardians at Yankees @ 6:38pm on TBS
    • Bibbee vs Cole
• Wed 10/16
  • NLCS – Game 3: Dodgers at Mets @ 7:08pm on FS1
    • Buehler vs Serevino
• Thurs 10/17
  • ALCS – Game 3: Yankees at Guardians @ 4:08pm on TBS
  • NLCS – Game 4: Dodgers at Mets @ 7:08pm on FS1
• Fri 10/18
  • NLCS – Game 5: Dodgers at Mets @ 4:08pm on FS1
  • ALCS – Game 4: Yankees at Guardians @ 7:08pm on TBS
• Sat 10/19 – If necessary
  • ALCS – Game 5: Yankees at Guardians @ 7:08pm on TBS
• Sun 10/20 – If necessary
  • NLCS – Game 6: Mets at Dodgers @ 7:08pm on FS1
• Mon 10/21 – If necessary
  • ALCS – Game 6: Guardians at Yankees @ 4:08pm on TBS
  • NLCS – Game 7: Mets at Dodgers @ 7:08pm on FS1
• Tues 10/22 – If necessary
  • ALCS – Game 7: Guardians at Yankees @ 6:38pm on TBS

Basketball – NBA: Preseason

• Thurs 10/17
  • Bucks at Mavericks @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Lakers at Suns @ 9pm on TNT
• Fri 10/18
  • Lakers at Warriors @ 9:30pm on ESPN2

Basketball-WNBA:

• Wed 10/16
  • Finals – Game 3: Liberty at Lynx @ 7pm on ESPN
    • Series tied 1-1
• Fri 10/18
  • Finals – Game 4: Liberty at Lynx @ 7pm on ESPN
• Sun 10/20
  • Finals – Game 5: Lynx at Liberty @ 7pm on ESPN
    • If necessary

Football – NCAAF:

Top 25
Week 8
Top 25 Games
Visitor	Home	Day	Time (CT)	TV	Line
6. Miami	Louisville	Sat 10/19	11:00 AM	ABC	MIA -4
7. Alabama	11. Tennessee	Sat 10/19	2:30 PM	ABC	Bama -2.5
24. Michigan	22. Illinois	Sat 10/19	2:30 PM	CBS	Mich -1
8. LSU	Arkansas	Sat 10/19	6:00 PM	ESPN	LSU -3
5. Georgia	1. Texas	Sat 10/19	6:30 PM	ABC	TX -3.5
*GameDay indicated in bold*

Football – NFL:

• Mon 10/14
  • Bills at Jets @ 7:15pm on ESPN
• Thurs 10/17
  • Broncos at Saints @ 7:15pm on Prime
• Sun 10/20
  • Patriots at Jags @ 8:30am on NFL in London
  • 7 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX
    • CBS: Titans at Bills, Bengals at Broncos, Texans at Packers
    • FOX: Seahawks at Falcons, Dolphins at Colts, Lions at Vikings, Eagles at Giants
  • Raiders at Rams – or – Panthers at Commanders @ 3:05pm on CBS
  • Chiefs at 49ers @ 3:25pm on FOX
  • Jets at Steelers @ 7:20pm on NBC
• Mon 10/21
  • Ravens at Bucs @ 7:15pm on ESPN & ABC
  • Chargers at Cardinals @ 7:45pm on ESPN+
• BYE: Bears and Cowboys

Golf:

• Mon 10/14
  • NCAA: St. Andrews Collegiate @ 8am on Golf Channel
• Tues 10/15
  • NCAA: St. Andrews Collegiate @ 8am on Golf Channel
• Wed 10/16
  • NCAA: St. Andrews Collegiate @ 8am on Golf Channel
• Thurs 10/17
  • PGA: Shriners Children Open – Round 1 @ 4pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 10/18
  • PGA: Shriners Children Open – Round 2 @ 4pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 10/19
  • PGA: Shriners Children Open – Round 3 @ 4pm on Golf Channel
• Sun 10/20
  • PGA: Shriners Children Open – Round 4 @ 4pm on Golf Channel

Hockey:

• Tues 10/15
  • Wild at Blues @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Flyers at Oilers @ 9pm on ESPN
• Wed 10/16
  • Sabres at Penguins @ 6pm on TNT
  • Bruins at Avalanche @ 8:30pm on TNT
• Thurs 10/17
  • Rangers at Red Wings @ 6:30pm on hulu

Motor Sports:

• Sat 10/19
  • F1: Pirelli GP at COTA – Sprint Race @ 1pm on ESPNEWS
  • F1: Pirelli GP at COTA – Qualifying @ 4:55pm on ESPNEWS
• Sun 10/20
  • F1: Pirelli GP at COTA @ 12:30pm on ESPN3
    • Replay @ 6pm on ESPNEWS & 9:30pm on ESPN2

Olympics Sports:

• Sat 10/19
  • NCAA Volleyball: Teams TBA @ 2:30pm on NBC
• Sun 10/20
  • Figure Skating: ISU GP @ 11am on NBC

Soccer:

• Mon 10/14
  • UEFA Nations: BEL vs FRA @ 7:30pm on FS1
• Tues 10/15
  • International Friendly: CAN vs PAN @ 6:30pm on FS1
  • UEFA Nations: ESP vs SRB @ 8:30pm on FS1
• Wed 10/16
  • UEFA Nations: POL vs CRO @ 12:30am on FS1
• Sat 10/19
  • Premier League: Tottenham vs West Ham @ 6:30am on USA
  • Premier League: Newcastle vs Brighton @ 9am on USA
  • Premier League: Teams TBA @ 11:30am on NBC
  • NWSL: KC Current vs SD Wave @ 12pm on CBS
• Sun 10/20
  • Premier League: Wolves vs Manchester City @ 8am on USA
  • Premier League: Liverpool vs Chelsea @ 10:30am on USA