Weekly Update October 28, 2024

Baseball: World Series Game 1 & 2. Dodgers ahead 2-0 but Ohtani injured?

Basketball – NBA: NBA is back! James duo on court for the first time. Green gets first technical.

Football – NCAAF: 5 losses in the Top 25. Scaries that shouldn’t have been. Other headlines. Liberty losses as does Navy.

Football – NFL: 8 close games. Double header MNF. A hail mary to remember.

Golf: Echavarria wins for 2nd time on Tour.

Motorsports: More Norris/Verstappen drama oh and Sainz wins.

Olympic Sports: WC Skiing is back! ISU Figure Skating in Canada this time with lots of title defenders.

Quick Headlines: WNBA HC changes. ESP strikes big with both Ballon d’Or awards.

Baseball – MLB:

• World Series Game 1: we knew this matchup was going to be good and we were proved right in the first game. We were scoreless til the 5^th when LA drew first blood with 1 run. Stanton for the Yankees answered in the 6^th with a 2-run HR. Mookie Betts brought in Ohtani in the 8^th to tie it up and we would go to extra innings. NY thought they had the game when they put up 1 in the 10^th. The Dodgers were on their final out of the game when Betts was intentionally walked and Freeman came up to bat. This is literally every little boys dream. Freeman hit a grand slam to bring in 4 runs and win Game 1 of the WS.

• Game 2 was much more tame but it was a night of HRs. Again the Dodgers scored first in the 2^nd but the Yanks tied it up in the next inning. But then Dodgers Herandez and Freeman had back to back HRs to bring in a total 3 runs in the 3^rd. That would be enough to hold on to the win and send the series to NY. LA leads 2-0.

• • Shoehei Ohtani got hurt sliding into 2^nd late in the game. He walked off gingerly. So far he is scheduled to return for Game 3 tonight but something to watch out for.

Basketball:

• Season started so you know what that means. Officially, the James father/son duo made history when they both took the court in the 2Q of Tuesday’s game. They did so with the Griffeys in attendence as well. They were the first father/son duo to compete in the MLB. Oh and the Lakers also won 110-103 over the Timberwolves.
• Draymond Green got his first technical foul of the season it the first game of the season. Who can say they are surprised there?

Football-NCAAF:

• Week 9 Top 25 Upsets:
  • In what should’ve been the gameday game of the week. Don’t get me wrong I love IU but the #8 LSU and #14 Texas A&M matchup was awesome. The home team had won the last 7 games and this was no different. Spoilers! LSU led 17-7 at half. But the Aggies made a qb change (after weigman was 6/18) after the half to throw off the tigers and it worked. They couldn’t stop Reed’s legs. The Texas A&M possessions after Reed came in: TD, TD, TD, TD FG end of game. Texas A&M upsets LSU at Kyle Field 38-23.
  • #1 Oregon proved themselves today in a season where 1 has been plagued. Not today. Oregon dominated #20 ILL the 1H leading 35-3 at half. Things cooled off in the 2H but the ducks continue to roll winning 38-9 to beat Illinois.
  • #15 Alabama had no problem rolling past #21 Mizzou in what was essentially a playoff elimination game. The Mizzou QB went out of the game but it didn’t really matter. Tide gets the shutout 34-0
  • #12 Notre Dame killed #24 Navy to hand the midshipmen their first loss of the season. Navy hadn’t lost a single fumble all season and they lost 5 in this game. 51-14 ND.

• • #5 Texas went to #25 Vandy and started like the last game. Ewers threw an INT but after that he went 17 straight to win. Texas was up 21-10 going into the locker room. The commodores kept the longhorns out of the end zone in 2H to come back a little but ultimately fell short. 27-24

• Some scaries that shouldn’t have been:
  • #17 Boise State was tested against UNLV’s defense but with Ashton Jeanty still getting 100+ yards, they still managed to win. It was a close one though 29-24.
  • #4 Ohio State played a close game against Nebraska who was a 25 point underdog. Nebraska had almost identical total yards, more 1^st downs and 10 more minutes in time of possession. Nebraska took the lead in the 4Q with 11 min to go. But eventually talent wins out with a TD in the final 6 minutes. Ohio State escapes.
  • Kansas may have scored first but #16 Kansas State decided to turn it on after that scoring the next 16 straight points. However the Wildcats could not manage to put the Jayhawks away. All game they kept hanging around and they even took the lead going into the 4Q, up by 4. The win probability chart changed teams 19xs. But two K St FGs put the game away including the final one in the last 2 min at 51 yards. K State survives the Sunflower Showdown.
  • Oklahoma made the #18 Ole Miss game interesting. Ole Miss didn’t find its groove til 3Q when they scored 13. Other than that, the Sooners were in the game.
  • The last three SMU possessions ended in turnovers and that gave the game away. Duke lined up for a game winning 30 yard FG but it got blocked brilliantly by the ponies and we head to OT. Smu scored in 2 plays. Duke just needed one play. But they went for the win and 2-point conversion. And failed to get it! SMU escapes with 6 turnovers and still wins!!

•  Shoutouts
  • #13 Indiana was on their backup QB and still managed to beat a good Washington team 31-17.
  • BYU rolled on UCF despite being an underdog which made no sense to me. They won 37-24.
  • Syracuse threw 5 INTs including 3 pick-6s to easily give #19 Pitt the win 41-13.

• Unranked quick highlights:
  • Kennesaw State got their first win over an FBS team and it was the most unlikely team of them all. The 0-6 Owls hand Liberty their first loss of the season and with only 1 turnover (that didn’t even result in any points).
  • Niu loses to Ball State on a 52 yard FG career long.

• • Colorado beat Cincinnati to be bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. Travis Hunter also rose to 3^rd in the Heisman race.

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

Football – NFL:

• Wrapping up week 7 MNF and it was a double header.
  • It was another great college QB matchup between Lamar Jackson and Baker Mayfield on MNF. That means a lot of points. The game had a O/U of 50 points. Hope you took the over in this one. It was a high scoring affair. The Bucs put up the first 10 points but the Ravens answered with the next 34 and kept the Bucs off the scoreboard for the middle two Qs. Tampa Bay did try to mount a comeback in the 4Q putting up 21 but they would still fall 10 points short. Ravens win 41-31.
  • That was in direct contrast for to the other game. This one was a lower scoring game with only 13 points evenly distributed in the 1H. But QB Kyler Murray ran into the endzone for the game-winning TD and a FG to win by 2 over the Chargers.

• TNF: The Vikings may not have lost until last week but tack another one in the loss column. They scored 14 in the 1Q but couldn’t get another TD after that. Rams QB Matthew Stafford threw 4 TDs to win by 10.

• There were 8 close games this weekend (week 8):
  • The Browns snapped their 5 game losing streak with a win over the Ravens, who were more than a TD favroite. Jameis Winston was the Browns QB as Watson is out. The 2H was where Cleveland really got rolling, put up 25 points after just FGs. They would win by 5.

• • The Cardinals had another game winning FG to beat the Dolphins in Tua’s return. Cardinals win by 1.

• • The Jets/Patriots game was basically a game for the bottom. It was a back and forth game but the Pats put up 11 in the 4Q to win by 3.
  • Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield had another great game against each other. They just played back at the beginning of the month with a game that went to OT. This one wasn’t that much of a nail biter but both QBs played well. Cousin threw 4 passing TDs and Baker threw 3. But the Falcons ultimately got the win 31-26.
  • The Packers got their 4^th win in a row and their 2^nd game-winning FG in a row. This game was over the Jags 30-27. QB Jordan Love left the game at the end of the 3Q and Josh Jacobs took over.
  • The Texans only put up FGs except the 2 TDs they got in the 2Q. That was enough to hang on to win by 3 over the Colts.

• • The Chiefs remain undefeated but it was closer than it should’ve been when playing the 2-5 Raiders. They only won by a TD.

• • You have to check out this last play! The Commanders were trailing 15-12 to the Bears with only FGs on the board. As time expired, Daniels threw a hail mary and they caught it on the bounce off the hands of other players. Commanders are now 6-2.

• The not so close ones:
  • The Eagles killed the Bengals who continue to struggle at home. They are now 0-4. Eagles put up 37 points on the bengals to win by 20.
  • The Lions had themselves a day. They put on a clinic in the first 3 Qs including getting a 90 yard punt return TD. Final score was 52-14 over the Titans.
  • The Saints never got into the endzone except for the safety they got in the 1Q (so I guess in the other team’s endzone technically). They would score 8 points to lose to the Chargers 26-8.
  • The Bills scored at least a TD in each Q to rack up 31 points. The Seahawks would only get one at the end of the game to lose by 21.
  • The Broncos had a great 2Q with 21 points which was more than the Panthers put up all game. QB Bo Nix threw 3 TD passes to win by 14.

•  SNF:
  • The 49ers/Cowboys SNF game started back and forth and looked to be a great one. Until the Niners got rolling, putting up 24 unanswered points. The Cowboys would try to mount a comeback in the 4Q but they were already training 27-10. They would ultimately bring the score within a TD but that was it. Cowboys lose 24-30.

Golf:

• Nico Echavarria had an amazing start to the Zozo Championship with 64s in both of the first two rounds. He would finish with a score of -20 for a total 260, which beat Tiger Woods’ record of 261 back in 2019. It was a three way tie on the final hole but Echavarria birdied 2 of the final 3 holes including the final to win by 1. This is the COL 2^nd win on the PGA Tour; his other was the PR Open last year.

Motorsports:

• Oh more Norris/Verstappen drama in Mexico. After last week when Norris was penalized for cutting off Verstappen, this week its flipped. Both men went off the track during lap 10. Norris was ahead and Verstappen brakes later in the corner, pushing Norris off the track but Norris gets the place. The announcers were literally saying ‘is McLaren foing to give that place back’ when Verstappen decided to just take it. Verstappen then retaliates on the next corner and runs Norris off again. Race control did hand Verstappen 2 10 second penalties. BTW Ferrari’s Sainz won the actual race with Norris getting 2^nd. Versatppen is now just 47 points ahead of Norris for the championship.

Olympic Sports:

• World Cup skiing is back! And so is Marcel Hirscher. He started his first WC race on Sunday with the Giant Slalom after 2051 days away from the sport. But it was the NOR who celebrated hardest with a sweep of the men’s Giant Slalom led by Alexander Steen Olsen. Reigning world champion, Odermott skied out during run 1. On the women’s side, ITA Federica Brignone won the WC season opener, also a giant slalom. Shiffrin faded to 5^th.
• JPN Kaori Sakamoto won the women’s title in Skate CAN, successfully defending her title there from last year. She is the oldest champion ever at Skate CAN at the age of 24 and oldest since 2016 to win a GP. JPN would sweep the women’s podium. The CAN pair also repeated their title. Ilia won again by 40 points over the nearest competitor. He is the first man to sweep Skate America and Canada in the same year in 25 years. FRA Ice Dance pair won their 5^th straight Skate CAN opening their ISU season.

Some quick highlights:

• WNBA: The Indiana Fever and Connecticut Suns have decided to part ways with their HCs. That’s a lot of change for one year.
• Spain has won the Ballon d’Or for both the men and women’s side soccer with Aitana Bonmati and Rodri.

What to watch this week

Baseball – MLB:

• Mon 10/28
  • World Series – Game 3: Dodgers at Yankees @ 7:08pm on FOX
• Tues 10/29
  • World Series – Game 4: Dodgers at Yankees @ 7:08pm on FOX
• Wed 10/30
  • World Series – Game 5: Dodgers at Yankees @ 7:08pm on FOX
    • If necessary
• Fri 11/1
  • World Series – Game 6: Yankees at Dodgers @ 7:08pm on FOX
    • If necessary
• Sat 11/2
  • World Series – Game 7: Yankees at Dodgers @ 7:08pm on FOX
    • If necessary

Basketball – NBA:

• Tues 10/29
  • Mavericks at Timberwolves @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Pelicans at Warriors @ 9pm on TNT
• Wed 10/30
  • Celtics at Pacers @ 6pm on ESPN
  • Spurs at Thunder @ 8:30pm on ESPN
• Fri 11/1
  • Magic at Cavaliers @ 6pm on ESPN
  • Nuggets at Timberwolves @ 8:30pm on ESPN

Football – NCAAF:

Top 25
Week 10
Top 25 Games
Visitor	Home	Day	Time (CT)	TV	Line
4. Ohio St	3. Penn St	Sat 11/2	11:00 AM	FOX	OSU -3
Minnesota	24. Illinois	Sat 11/2	11:00 AM	FS1	MN -3
10. Texas A&M	South Carolina	Sat 11/2	6:30 PM	ABC	Tamu -2.5
Louisville	11. Clemson	Sat 11/2	6:30 PM	ESPN	Clem -10.5
18. Pitt	20. SMU	Sat 11/2	7:00 PM	ACC	SMU -7.5
*GameDay indicated in bold*

Football – NFL:

• Mon 10/28
  • Giants at Steelers @ 7:15pm on ESPN
• Thurs 10/31
  • Texans at Jets @ 7:15pm on Prime
• Sun 11/3
  • 8 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX
    • CBS: Dolphins at Bills, Chargers at Browns, Saints at Panthers, Broncos at Ravens
    • FOX: Cowboys at Falcons, Raiders at Bengals, Patriots at Titans, Commanders at Giants
  • Jags at Eagles – or – Bears at Cardinals @ 3:05pm on CBS
  • Lions at Packers – or – Rams at Seahawks @ 3:25pm on FOX
  • Colts at Vikings @ 7:20pm on NBC
• Mon 11/4
  • Bucs at Chiefs @ 7:15pm on ESPN & ABC
• Byes: Steelers, 49ers

Golf:

• Mon 10/28
  • East Lake Cup @ 2pm on Golf Channel
• Tues 10/29
  • East Lake Cup @ 2pm on Golf Channel
• Wed 10/30
  • East Lake Cup @ 2pm on Golf Channel

Hockey:

• Tues 10/29
  • Rangers at Capitals @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Kings at Sharks @ 9pm on ESPN
• Wed 10/30
  • Golden Knights at Kings @ 9pm on TNT
• Thurs 10/31
  • Oilers at Predators @ 7pm on hulu

Motor Sports:

• Sun 11/3
  • F1: Sao Paulo GP @ 11am on ESPN2

Olympics Sports:

• Sun 11/3
  • ISU Figure Skating GP – FRA @ 11am on NBC

Soccer:

• Tues 10/29
  • MLS Playoff: Columbus Crew vs NY Red Bulls @ 5:45pm on FS1
  • MLS Playoff: Real SLC vs MinnesotaU @ 7:50pm on FS1
• Wed 10/30
  • U17 DR Semifinal: USA vs KOR @ 5:55pm on FS1
• Sat 11/2
  • Premier League: Newcastle U vs Arsenal @ 7:30am on USA
  • Premier League: Southampton vs Everton @ 10am on USA
  • Premier League: Teams TBA @ 12:30pm on NBC
• Sun 11/3
  • Premier League: Tottenham vs Aston Villa @ 8am on USA
  • Premier League: ManU vs Chelsea @ 10:30am on USA
  • MLS Playoff: Vancouver vs LAFC @ 7:45pm on FS1