Posted on October 23, 2023

Weekly Update October 23, 2023

Weekly Update

Baseball: ALCS goes to Game 7 tonight! PHI leads NLCS as we head back to Phili.

Basketball: NBA Season begins this week. Aces win back-to-back.

Football – NCAAF: 6 losses in the Top 25. Other major headlines. Top 25 this week. Michigan State in trouble…again.

Football – NFL: NFL updates this week. Traylor still going strong.

Golf: Morikawa wins Zozo. DeCheambeau’s Crushers win LIV.

Motorsports: F1 normal winner and MotoGP’s unusual one.

Olympic Sports: PanAm Gym. Eaker retires with some loud words. Malinin dominates.

Baseball – MLB:

  • Every team that is playing in the Championship Series have less than 100 wins and that’s saying something since we had 3 teams with that impressive feat.
    • It may have been all Rangers in Houston, going up 2-0 in the series where he left off last week but say goodbye to home field advantage. Houston had 12 hits on Dallas’ star P Scherzer (and company) on Wednesday to win 8-5. Then Thursday, it was even worse with Astros scoring 3 runs in 1st inning and just nailing it home in the 4th and later. Astros win 10-3 and tie up the series. Friday’s game was back and forth. Astros scored 1 in the 1st. Rangers tied it up in the 5th. Houston scored a single run again and this time TX would do one better with a 3-run homer in 6. It finally looked like a team was going to win at home until the 9th when Astros returned the favor. AllStar Altuve hit a 3-run homer to take the lead in the series 3-2 coming home to Houston. But the home field curse continued. It was back and forth again but with a Ranger lead going into the 9th. But Garcia put the nail in the coffin. He hit a grand slam to tie up the series again and send it to a crazy winner-take-all Game 7 tonight.

    • We left off with the PHI winning Game 1 and they continued that momentum into Game 2 shutting out the Diamondbacks 10-0 – Yikes! Schwarber was responsible for 2 of those scores with 2 consecutive HRs. Thursdays Game 3 was much closer. The teams both scored a single run in the 7th inning a piece and we were tied into the 9th. However that’s when the DBacks caught a break, 2 walks lead to bases loaded and only 1 out, a walk off single won the game. Being home did good things for Arizona as they also won Game 4 to tie the series back up at 2 games a piece. Game 4 was close as well. PHI led 5-2 at the bottom of the 7th. Arizona scored but left a lot of players stranded. However the 8th inning they rallied bringing in 3 runs (2 off a HR) to complete the comeback 6-5. So were were tied going into the final game in AZ. But Game 5 was all Phillies, who scored early 2 runs including a home plate steal by Bryce Harper and an error on the Diamondbacks. They did manage a single run in the 7th but that was it. They give Phili the lead in the series back after falling 6-1. We go back to Phili tonight. And that game is over as I got this episode ready. The DBacks had 2 HRs in the 2nd inning along with another run tacked on. The Phillies managed to also score one run in the 2nd but that was it for the PHI team. Arizona would score another 2, winning the game 5-2 and forcing a Game 7 tomorrow night.

Basketball – NBA:

  • Regular season begins this week! It will start Tues 10/24 and run through April 14th next year.
  • Aces win back-to-back WNBA Championships for the first time in 21 years.

Football – NCAAF:

  • This week gave us 6 losses in the Top 25.
    • The Gameday game of #7 Penn St and #3 Ohio St was a battle of defenses. There were only 3 TDs all game and 1 in the 1H. Although Penn St had a Scoop & Score called back. Ohio State got the better of this one winning 20-12. Not too surprising as both teams have only allowed an average of 10 points per game. Marvin Harrison Jr was the savior of the Buckeyes being as productive as the entire WR core by himself.

    • 1-5 UVA traveled to #10 UNC and was only trailing 17-14 at half. Then UNC scored to make the gap 10 points and I thought ok here we go. But UVA struck back and we were tied 24-24 into the 4Q. UVA took the lead with 9 minutes to go. Each team then had a turnover including UVA who fumbled the ball out the back of the endzone (heart breaking) and no other points were scored. UVA gets the huge upset 31-27 handing the Tar Heels their first loss of the season. That is the first road win against a Top 10 team for UVA ever! This game was hard to build momentum as between both teams, there were only 3 drives over 10 plays.
    • #4 Florida State had their hands full with #16 Duke with their starting QB Riley Leonard back (or at least til he got injured in the 3Q – he also tried to come back in but HC Elko wasn’t having it). The Noles were trailing 20-17 going into the 4Q. The Seminoles would then score 21 points in the final 13 minutes to stay undefeated. 38-20 looked better than it was although the FSU defense did play well in that final stretch only allowing 13 plays by the Blue Devils.
    • #17 Tennessee was in full control beating #11 Alabama 20-7 at half. But then the Tide rolled. Bama scored 27 unanswered points to put themselves back in the driver’s seat of this one including a scoop and score. Their playoff hopes remain alive as they win this one 34-20.

    • #14 Utah seems to have #18 USC’s number. The Utes beat the Trojans twice last year and just like last year, USC was favored in this game. Utah had only allowed 73 points all year but had had trouble scoring. However USC’s defense is terrible so this was going to be an interesting matchup. We were tied 14-14 at end of 1Q. No points scored in 2Q. Then Utah got to a 28-14 lead at one point in the 3Q. 4Q was all USC with the Trojans scoring the go-ahead TD off a killer punt-return then 1 play by Caleb Williams with just 1:46 left in the game. Trojans lead by 1 after failed 2-point conversion. Utah started their drive at the 25 and just needed to get into FG range. With costly penalties and a big 4th & 1, the Utes manage to get to the USC 21 to set up the 38 yard FG which the kicker nailed. Utah wins 34-32.

  • Other major storylines:
    • #2 Michigan destroyed their in state rival, Michigan St winning 49-0. #19 LSU shutout Army 62-0, scoring 24 points in the 2Q alone. #25 UCLA handled Stanford with ease beating the Cardinal 42-7.
    • SMU beat Temple on Friday night and it was the largest road shutout of the team since 1980.
    • #9 Oregon played a close game with Washington St who looked more like their old selves than last week. The Ducks won 38-24 but Wazzu’s QB Cam Ward threw for 438 yards.

    • We had a lot of close games that shouldn’t have been after teams had big wins previously. #5 Washington came off their win against Oregon last week and just came out flat. They only beat Arizona State 15-7 and the Huskies were favored by 26 points! Doesn’t help that they had 4 turnovers including a season high 2 INT for Penix. They only took the lead on a pick 6 in the 4Q. #6 Oklahoma was tied 17-17 at half but then UCF took the lead. The Sooners needed all 14 points they scored in the 4Q to beat the Knights. Then #8 Texas let Houston back in the game after going up 21-0. The Coogs came back to tie it up 21-21 and again 24-24 in the 4Q. Longhorns scored with ~5:37 to play. Houston then drove down the field steadily with a successful 4&2 pass. But when the Coogs got to the redzone that’s where their luck ran out. Dana Holgerson ran the ball of 3&1 for no gain and got a bad spot (IMO). They then had a 4&1 pass that the Horns batted down to stay alive. UT escaped 31-24. Auburn is winless in the SEC but man they were close this week, playing #13 Ole Miss to within a TD. Ole Miss won 28-21.
    • Arkansas had kept good teams close in the last few weeks but not this week. They let Mississippi St beat them in a thrilling (with extreme sarcasm) 7-3 game.

    • Miami and Clemson I knew would be a good game despite both teams now being unranked. The game was back and forth. But listen to how it started for Clemson: punt, fumble, punt, fumble, TD, interception. Miami came back to score 10 points in the 4Q to tie the game 17-17. OT saw 2 FGs then we go to 2OT. Miami went first and scored a TD. Clemson couldn’t answer and they are now 2-3 in ACC. This was also Mario Cristobal’s 1st ACC win at home.

  • Top 25 this week: James Madison broke into the Top 25 this week coming in at #25. They made their debut in the Top 25 last year for the first time ever. Now let’s see if they can last a little longer (1 week). Penn St only fell 3 spots to #10 for playing Ohio St close. UNC fell to #17 after their embarrassing loss to UVA. Duke and TN fell 4 apiece. USC is still ranked (mainly because every team on the verge of being ranked last week also lost) to #24. Only big movers upwards were LSU and Mizzou up 4. Louisville and Air Force up 3.

  • We only have a handful of undefeated teams left: Georgia, Michigan, Ohio St, Florida St, Washington, Oklahoma, Air Force, James Madison and Liberty.

  • Michigan State had to order an official apology after Hitler’s image was used as a trivia question on the scoreboard before their game on Saturday against Michigan. According to the Spartan athletic department no one watched the video in its entirety so they did not see that the trivia question about where Hitler was born was going to be used. They work with a third party company for all of their scoreboard needs and they are no longer working with said company according to ESPN.

Football – NFL:

  • This week in the NFL: 7 games were close. TNF was not. The Bears had to go to their backup QB who I bet you haven’t heard of (because I certainly hadn’t). Tyson Bagent played for Shephard (a D2 school in PA) and is a rookie this year but had a 72% completion rate and a TD. He helped his CHI team upset the Raiders 30-12. The Browns were also forced to use their backup QB as Watson went out just 12 minutes into the game vs the Colts. But that didn’t stop the Cleveland team either as Indy had 4 turnovers and was penalty ridden at the end of the game. The Browns scored with just 15 seconds left and won by 1.

  • The Patriots shocked the Bills beating the NY team by 4 to give Belichick his 300th win. The Giants scored all 14 points needed in the 2Q and they beat the Commanders by 7. The Falcons won over the Bucs in another walk-off FG for 51 yards to move into the lead in the NFC South. Drama in the Steelers win over the Rams after a controversial 4th down call. You be the judge. In a battle of bottom feeder teams, the Broncos finally get a win beating the Packers by 2. The Lions looked like they were starting to be a real threat with 4 consecutive wins. That streak came to a screeching halt as the Ravens routed the DET team. Jackson threw for 357 yards and 3 TDs and ran for one. Ravens win 38-6. The 2Q was full of action in the Chargers/Chiefs game with a combined 35 points being scored. But the Chiefs were dominant with Mahomes scoring 5 TDs (4 through the air to all different players and 1 on the ground). TE Travis Kelce had also 29 consecutive successful targets and catches but that streak ended in the 4Q. Taylor was in attendance.

  • The Dolphins/Eagles game was two of the hottest teams in the NFL matching up. The Phili team got the last laugh here winning 31-17, an impressive feat to keep the Miami team to below 20 points (no other team had managed it this season). The Panthers didn’t lose this week – because they had a bye.
  • Still winless: Panthers

Golf:

  • Collin Morikawa won the ZOZO Championship in JPN this weekend, ending his 27-month winless streak and he did it in dominant fashion. His last win before this one was the 2021 Open. Morikawa won his 6th PGA Tour title by 6 strokes in the country that his great-grandparents emigrated from (aka Japan).

  • The Team finale of the LIV tour was decided this weekend at Trump Doral. DeChambeau’s the Crushers finished atop the podium, bringing home the big check of $14MM. They were only leading by 2 shots (which when all 4 men’s scores count, is not a big lead) over the RangeGoats when Talor Gooch, who won the individual title last week, put his 18th tee shot into the water. Lahiri played bogey free on the final day for the lowest round amongst the 4 players.

Motorsports:

  • Max Verstappen won at COTA this weekend despite starting 6th on the grid. This means that he has won 15 races this season which ties his best with last year and there are still 4 races to go. Hamilton got 2nd but was later DQ’d for breach of regulations. Those regulations was the wear on his resin plank in the underside of his Mercedes. Both Hamilton and Verstappen were mentioning the bumps on the track and wishing it would be re-paved before next year’s GP.

  • MotoGP was in Australia this week at Philip Island and the weather was as crazy as the race. The league actually moved the main event to Saturday and canceled the sprint race due to weather. Apparently that was all that was needed for FRA and Pramac Ducati rider Johann Zarco. He has been in MotoGP for almost 7 years and never won until Saturday. He passed his teammate who lost the lead on the final lap due to losing grip on his tires just enough to slip off the podium.

Olympic Sports:

  • The Pan American Games opened on Friday and Jordan Chiles was the flagbearer. She then went on to win gold in the team all-around and individual.
  • Kara Eaker is retiring from Gymnastics after she allegedly suffered from verbal and emotional abuse at the University of Utah. She did not name the coach in question but HC Tom Farden has been the main HC coach since 2020 and co from 2016-2019.

  • Ilia Malnin successfully defended his Skate America crown with ease after a near-perfect Free Skate. He won by more than 31 points, at a career high 310.47 points. FRA got silver and JPN took Bronze. GER pairs took home the gold. USA Ice Dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates easily won their 4th Skate America. That bodes well for them as we lead into the 2026 Cortina games as they won their first World Championships after last year’s Skate title.

What to watch this week

Baseball – MLB:

  • Mon 10/23
    • NLCS – Game 6: Diamondbacks at Phillies @ 4:07pm on TBS
      • PHI lead 3-2
    • ALCS – Game 7: Rangers at Astros @ 7:03pm on FOX/FS1
      • Series tied 3-3
  • Tues 10/24 – If necessary
    • NLCS – Game 7: Diamondbacks at Phillies @ 7:07pm on TBS

Basketball – NBA:

  • Tues 10/24
    • Lakers at Nuggets @ 6:30pm on TNT
    • Suns at Warriors @ 9pm on TNT
  • Wed 10/25
    • Celtics at Knicks @ 6pm on ESPN
    • Mavericks at Spurs @ 8:30pm on ESPN
  • Thurs 10/26
    • 76ers at Bucks @ 6:30pm on TNT
    • Suns at Lakers @ 9pm on TNT
  • Fri 10/27
    • Heat at Celtics @ 6:30pm on ESPN
    • Warriors at Kings @ 9pm on ESPN

Football-NCAAF:

Top 25 
Week 9
Top 25 Games
Visitor  Home Day Time (CT) TV Line
6. Oklahoma Kansas Sat 10/28 11:00 AM FOX -9.5
8. Oregon 13. Utah Sat 10/28 2:30 PM FOX -7
20. Duke 18. Louisville Sat 10/28 2:30 PM ESPN +4
21. Tennessee Kentucky Sat 10/28 6:00 PM ESPN -4
11. Oregon St Arizona Sat 10/28 9:30 PM ESPN -3.5
*GameDay indicated in bold*

Football-NFL:

  • Mon 10/23
    • 49ers at Vikings @ 7:15pm on ABC and ESPN
  • Thurs 10/26
    • Bucs at Bills @ 7:15pm on Prime
  • Sun 10/29
    • 9 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX
      • CBS: Falcons at Titans, Patriots at Dolphins or Jets at Giants or Jaguars at Steelers
      • FOX: Rams at Cowboys or Vikings at Packers or Saints at Colts or Eagles at Commanders or Texans at Panthers
    • Browns at Seahawks @ 3:05pm on FOX
    • 3 games @ 3:25pm on CBS
      • Chiefs at Broncos
      • Ravens at Cardinals
      • Bengals at 49ers
    • Bears at Chargers @ 7:20pm on NBC
  • Mon 10/30
    • Raiders at Lions @ 7:15pm on ESPN and ABC

Hockey:

  • Tues 10/24
    • Maples Leafs at Captials @ 5pm on ESPN
    • Bruins at Blackhawks @ 7:30pm on ESPN
    • Flyers at Golden Knights @ 10pm on ESPN
  • Wed 10/25
    • Capitals at Devils @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Thurs 10/26
    • Wild at Flyers @ 6:30pm on hulu
  • Sun 10/29
    • Flames at Oilers @ 6pm on TBS

Motorsports:

  • Sun 10/29
    • F1: Mexico GP @ 3pm on ESPN

Olympic Sports:

  • Thurs 10/26
    • Volleyball: NCAAW – Baylor at Texas @ 7pm on FS1
  • Sat 10/28
    • Rugby: World Cup Final @ 2pm on CNBC
  • Sun 10/29
    • Rugby: World Cup Final @ 11am on NBC

Soccer:

  • Mon 10/23
    • Premier League: Tottenham vs Fulham @ 2pm on USA
  • Wed 10/25
    • La Liga: Juarez vs Atletico San Luis @ 10pm on FS1
  • Fri 10/27
    • Premier League: Crystal Palace vs Tottenham @ 2pm on USA
  • Sat 10/28
    • Premier League: Chelsea vs Brentford @ 6:30am on USA
    • Premier League: Arsenal vs Sheffield United @ 9am on USA
    • Premier League: Wolves vs Newcastle @ 11:30am on NBC
  • Sun 10/29
    • Premier League: West Ham vs Everton @ 8am on USA

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