Weekly Update October 7, 2024

Coming up this month: October

Baseball: Playoffs have begun! Wildcard rounds. Only made matchup made it to Game 3. First round starts. 2 Game 2s and both series are split.

Basketball: Mutombo died at age 58. James duo make NBA history.

Football – NCAAF: What a week! 7 losses in top 25 and 5 in top 11. Still have undefeated teams. Best weeks on the calendar this weekend.

Football – NFL: 9 close games this week. Record setting weeks for Goff and Cousins. 2 undefeated teams left.

Golf: Mitchell wins Sanderson. Hatten ties St. Andrews record.

Coming up this month:

NHL Season starts Oct 8-April, World Track Cycling Championships Oct 16-20, F1 USA race Oct 20, NBA Season starts Oct 20-April 13, World Series Oct 25-Nov 2, World Wrestling Championships Oct 28-31.

Baseball – MLB:

• Finishing the regular season: We had a double header to finish off the regular season between the Mets and Braves which were make ups from Sept 25-26. The first game was a close one with the Braves doing all the scoring before the 8^th inning, up 3-0. But the 8^th inning was crazy with a combined 10 runs scored. The Mets put up 6 of those on a double, 2 singles, a sac fly and a HR. the Braves fought back scoring 4 runs to take the 7-6 lead going into the 9^th. But then the Mets and Lindor hit a 2-run HR to win it and advance! The next game was a lot less eventful. The Braves won 3-0. The Mets only had 3 hits all game and got no runs off them. Both teams advance to the wild card rounds.

• Wild card match ups:
  • The Braves must’ve been tired from their games to get into the Wild Card. They would get shutout of Game 1 by the Padres. P King struck out 12 batters and Tatis hit a 2-run HR on his first swing. Game 2 was much closer. Braves scored first but the Padres came back in a big way with a 5-run 2^nd. That was too much for the Braves to overcome and the Padres sweep the Braves.
  • The Royals won a close game 1 only winning 1-0 with both teams having 5 hits a piece. The next night the Royals scored 1 in the 1^st. The 90+ win Orioles team got a HR in the 5^th but who would’ve thought that would be their only score in both games. KC got another player around the bases in the very next inning as they upset the Orioles to advance!
  • The Astros may have won the AL West but it wasn’t enough to keep the Tigers at bay. Detroit went up early, scoring 3 runs in the 2^nd of Game 1. Even though the Astros put up one in the final inning, it wasn’t enough. Game 2 was back and forth with no scoring until the 6^th. Tigers scored 1, Astros scored 2 next inning. But the Tigers broke it open in the 8^th on a wild pitch to bring across the game tying run and then a double brought home 3 more. Tigers upset the Astros 5-2 and advance.
  • The only series to go to a Game 3 was between the Mets and the Brewers. Unlike the Braves, the Mets carried their momentum from the regular season finale to Game 1. They would win 8-4. Even though the Brewers scored first, a 5-run 5^th inning helped NY. Game 2 was close and back and forth. Mets scored 1^st with 1 in the 1^st but Brewers answered in the same inning. Then the Mets put up 2 in the 2^nd to take the lead. It wasn’t until the 8^th when the Brewers would tie up the game and a 2-run HR would win it 5-3. Headed to game 3! We were scoreless until the 7^th in Game 3. Milwaukee got 2 HRs to go up 2-0. And then in what could’ve been his last game, Alonso his a 3-run HR in the top of the 9^th to give the Mets the unlikely lead. They would tack on another for good measure and the Brewers couldn’t answer. Mets advance!

• First round – Game 1s only
  • The Guardians shutout the Tigers 7-0 in Game 1. It started off with the Guardians putting up 5 in the first inning and they just cleaned it up from there.
  • The Yankees/Royals game was close and back and forth. It had 5 lead changes, which is the most in MLB playoff history. Literally every inning had a different team score (1^st and 8^th had none). NY was up last and scored last to win 6-5.

• First round 1&2s
  • Phillies star Kyle Schwarber hit a HR in the 1^st to put the Phillies up. However the Mets saved all their luck for the 8^th when they had a 5-run inning with a rally to move batters around the bases with singles and sac flies. Both teams would put up 1 each in the 9^th but it wasn’t enough to overcome the 8^th for the Phillies. Mets take Game 1. Game 2 was a fun one. Mets went up 2-0 til the 6^th. The Mets tacked on one but the Phillies put up 3 to tie the game. The Mets got a HR in the 7^th to go back up by 1. Then the Phillies scored 3 in the 8^th to go back on top 6-4. The Mets had an amazing HR by Vientos (the hero that got the 5-run inning started last game) to score 2 more and tie it up. But the Phillies had heartbreak ready. A rally in the 9^th got 1 batter around to score 1 run and win by 1. Series is tied!

• • Spoilers, the other NLDS seirs is also tied 1-1. Game 1 was back and forth. The Padres got rolling first with 3 runs in the 1^st then who else but Ohtani’s HR tied it back up in the 2^nd. Padres would score 2 more in the 3^rd. Dodgers answer by scoring 3 in the 4^th to take the lead 6-5. LA would add one more for good measure but would hold on to take Game 1. Game 2 was not so close. The first part of the game looked like it might be with 1 run and 2 runs by the Padres and Dodgers scoring 1 in 2. But the Padres found another level in the final 2 innings, scoring 3 in each to handily beat the Dodgers. Helps when you have 6 HRs by San Diego.

• Pete Rose, MLB legend and controversial idol, died at the age of 83 from natural causes. He still holds the record for the most games played (3,562) and plate appearances (15,890) and the NL hitting streak record (44). But he is most known for his 4,256 hits which broke Ty Cobb’s record. He played from 1963-1986 as a part of the Reds (for 2 stints), Phillies and Montreal Expos. He was then a Manager for the Reds as well for 5 years. He was a 17x All-Star and 3x World Series Champion. However in what is easily a HoF worthy career, he is not in there due to his gambling. He eventually said he did in fact gamble on baseball and his own games but never affected the outcome. Either way he was permanently banned and is ineligible for the HoF.

Basketball:

• Dikembe Mutombo, HoF in the NBA, died after brain cancer at the age of 58 this week. He was known for his signature finger wag after blocks. Mutombo came from the DR of Congo, played for Georgetown before playing 18 years in the NBA. He played for a variety of teams Nuggets, Hawks, 76ers, Nets, Knicks and Rockets. He was a 8x All-Star and 4x Defensive PoY. The Hawks and Nuggets have retired his #55. But he was an amazing man off the court as well. He opened a $29MM hospital in his hometown and leader of NBA Africa. He spoke over 8 languages. His humanitarian section on his Wikipedia is almost as long as his basketball history. RIP.

• LeBron and Bronny James played in the Lakers preseason game against the Suns on Saturday. They are the first father-son pair to play in a NBA game. It was fitting as it was on Bronny’s 20^th bday and he joined his dad on the court in the 2Q. The Lakers did end up losing to the Suns 118-114 but I doubt anyone will remember that part of this game.

Football-NCAAF:

• Week 6 Top 25 Upsets: 8 teams in bye! That was a win this week.
  • Vanderbilt beat the #1 Alabama for the first win in the Top 5 in program history. Before this they were 0-60 and had lost 23xs to Bama. And this was no fluke. Vandy held ball for 42 minutes and had no 3 & outs. They did capitalize on 2 Bama turnovers but one still had a full drive after the fumble. They beat up on Bama, scoring 40 points to Bama’s 35. Bama never led for first time since Nov 2019. Pavia (Vandys QB) had only 4 incompletions. Bama is no longer undefeated.

• • Arkansas had been close so many times until Saturday night! They scored the only points in the 1H with a FG. But then Tennessee got rolling in the 3Q with two back to back TD drives to take the 14-3 lead. And you’re like ‘ok ya here we go’ but the Razorbacks did not give in. Arkansas answered with a TD and then made Tennessee punt and drove down the field again. Arkansas only got a FG after being 1^st & goal from the 8. Tennessee still leads 14-13. We then had 5 punts in a row before Arkansas would get the ball back and punch in another TD. Once the Hogs got down in the red zone it was apparent what TN’s plan was… let them score and get the ball back into Nico’s hands with as much time as possible. They would get the ball back with 1:17 to go and at least 1 TO. Nico had a 42 yard pass to the ARK 25 and I was like yep that was it. 17 seconds to go. But the razorbacks’ D bowed up and some bad clock management and a bad snap into the RB’s hands, let the clock run out and Arkansas upsets Tennessee 19-14. Undefeated TN goes down.
  • This was a weird one. #25 Texas A&M looked like a completely new team with starting QB Connor Weigman coming back to play after a shoulder injury and apparently he’d been injured all season because he had himself a game! The Aggies had over 500 yards of offense and exposed #9 Mizzou who have looked fraudulent but managed to escape. That was until yesterday. The Aggies just put the beat down on the Tigers to win 41-10.

• • In a rematch of last year’s National championship game, #10 Michigan traveled to Washington in a Big Ten game. On the flip side from Mizzou, Washington had had some tough self-inflicted losses this year to make their record less than desirable. Finally they played a clean game and it showed. Washington was favored and took the lead early 14-0 but Michigan would come back to take the lead in the 3Q 17-14. Washington took off in the 4Q though putting up an unanswered 13 points to win 27-17.

• • Minnesota has been a pain to Big Ten ranked teams all year. #11 USC traveled to MN as almost a 10 point favorite. The teams were tied at half and only because USC got a 54 yard FG to tie it up. USC scored a TD in the 3Q to take the lead. But MN never quits, the Golden Gophers tied game with 7 min left. And then took it all the way down the field again. In a huge gutsy call, PJ Fleck went for the TD on 4^th & Goal instead of kicked the FG. At first the ruling on the field was that the QB did not cross get into the endzone but video review reversed the call for a TD to take the lead. USC had 56 seconds to go the length of the field. Miller Moss would throw an INT in the endzone to end it. Minnesota upsets #11 USC 24-17.
  • Ever since SMU made the change at QB from Preston Stone to Kevin Jennings, it has paid off! In their first road ACC game, SMU had #21 Louisville on the ropes. It was a back and forth game so much so that every score alternated teams. SMU was up 21-10 at one point and Louisville came all the way back to tie it up going into the 4Q 27-27 but the Ponies would score again to win 34-27 final!

• • #25 UNLV just broke into the rankings when they hosted Syracuse. This game was super streaky. Syracuse scored the first 14 points then UNLV came back with the next 21. Syracuse scored the next 17 points and then UNLV answered again with the next 17 to take the lead 38-31. Syracuse got the ball back with just 2:58 on the clock. They drove down the field and got the game tying TD. We end to OT. UNLV managed a FG but the Cuse got the TD to seal it. UNLV’s undefeated season comes to an end.

• Other headlines from the weekend:
  • 1945 was the last time both Army and Navy were 5-0.
  • Indiana is the first team to become bowl eligible winning their first 6 games. They are 6-0 for the first time since 1967 and that’s with a new HC at the helm.
  • Iowa state 5-0 for first time since 1980.
  • Houston beat TCU 30-19 for the first time in 35 years that dates back to Nov 1989.
  • Rutgers fell by a TD to Nebraska to lose their undefeated season.
• Some scaries that shouldn’t have been:
  • #8 Miami looked like they were going to add to the carnage of upsets in the Gameday game for the first time at Cal. Cal got up 35-10 in the 2^nd half of the 3Q. But Miami isn’t ranked in the Top 10 for nothing. The Canes started their comeback late in the 3Q and it was a lot of Canes in the 4Q. Cal got a FG but Miami put up TDs. They would take the lead with 26 seconds left by 1. That was too much for the Cal QB to try to manage and he threw an INT to end it. That completes the largest comeback win since 1999.

• Rankings: Texas retakes #1 after Bama’s loss. Michigan is still ranked even after 2 losses! USC, Louisville and UNLV were dropped. Pitt has joined the Top 25 as they sit undefeated. We have a 3-way tie at 18 between Indiana, Oklahoma and K State.
  • • The only undefeated teams left: Texas, Ohio St, Oregon, Penn St, Miami, Iowa St, BYU, Indiana, Pitt, Army, Navy, Liberty

Football – NFL:

• Wrapping up week 4 MNF and it was a double header:
  • The Titans got their first win of the season with a dominant 31-12 win over the Dolphins. That was even after their starting QB Will Levis left the game just 5 min into the game.
  • The Lions/Seahawks game was a great one and had a college football score! Not a single FG in this game – just TDs. Lions QB Jared Goff not only set a NFL record competing all 18 of his passes for a 100% completion percentage but he also caught a TD pass on a trick play. Lions win 42-29.

• TNF was awesome! The Bucs and Falcons game was back and forth so much so that the teams were tied 4xs during this game including at the end of regulation. The biggest lead of the game was a TD and we had 4 FGs over 50 yards (and two more just a few yards short). The game went into OT after the Falcons nailed a 52 yard FG. The Falcons only needed 4 plays to go 70 yards to win the game with a TD in OT. What a game! Kirk Cousins had a career high passing day with 509 yards and 4 TDs. Also both QBs for the teams donated $50k to hurricane Helene relief.

• NFL Week 5 had 9 close games.
  • The Vikings and Jets played in London and apparently that does not agree with Aaron Rodgers. He threw 3 INT and still only lost by 5. The Vikings put up the first 17 points and they never gave back the lead. Viks are now 5-0!
  • The Texans were up 17-3 at half but the Bills scored 14 points in the 3Q. a chip shot at the end of the 4Q would tie the game up 20-20. But the Houston team nailed a 59-yard FG to win as the clock ran out. The Texans had 200 more yards of offense but 2 turnovers killed their game. They escape with that FG to remain undefeated at home so far this season.
  • The Bengals/Ravens game was awesome. It had a little bit of everything, lots of scoring, a safety, a last 2 min FG to tie it up and OT. Lamar Jackson had 4 TDs and 400+ yards himself. The Bengals led at half 17-14. The 2H got crazy. Every drive, the team with the ball scored a TD. No joke! Until the Bengals threw an INT with 3 min to go. The Ravens were down by a FG and nailed a 56 yarder to take the game to OT. In OT, the Ravens fumbled – never good in OT. But the football gods were smiling on the Ravens as the Bengals would miss their 53 yard FG. The Ravens would make their chip shot FG to win!
  • Arizona shocked the 49ers! 1^st and goal for 49ers in final 6 min with the lead but Cardinals got a turnover then went down the field to score a FG to take the lead by 1. The 49ers got the ball back and all they had to do was get in FG range but they get picked off to end the game and secure the upset for the Cards. The 49ers are now 2-3.
  • Dolphins haven’t led for more than 1 second all season. that was until this weekend when they beta the Pats 15-10. They still had to come back in the 2H. Oh and OBJ made his Dolphin debut this weekend.
  • The Jaguars got their first win this weekend beating the Colts and the 4Q of this game was nuts. The Jags led 20-10 going into the final Q but then a combined 41 points scored! 24 by the Colts who tried to mount a comeback but the Jags nailed a FG in the final 21 seconds to seal their debut win this season.

• • SNF was a match up of the Steelers hosting the Cowboys. The win probability chart changed teams over 28xs. After only FGs in the 1H, the 2H was all TDs. Dallas’ final and game winning TD was in the last 20 seconds of the game to win 20-17.

• The not so close ones:
  • The Bears put up 20 points in the 2Q to kill the Panthers 36-10.
  • The Broncos had a 100 yard Pick 6 and beat the Raiders 34-18.
  • The Giants upset the Seahawks at home after a slow 1Q with no points but then they put up 10, 10 and 9 to beat Seattle by 9. It was made even sweeter because the Seahawks went for a FG to tie it up with 1 minute left but the Giants blocked the kick and ran it back for a TD. Oops!

• • The Commanders are riding the rookie wave that Jayden Daniels brought in. He has the best completion % through 4 games in NFL rookie history at 82.5%. Not in this game though (56%). But he overcame that to still beat the Browns 34-13. The Browns were so frustrated that at one point QB Watson stormed off the field.
• There is a lot more parity in the league this year. The Chiefs and the Vikings are the only undefeated teams left. Every team has won 1 game!

Golf:

• Keith Mitchell and Beau Hossler had exchanged leads all week at the Sanderson Farms so it was fitting when they were battling on Sunday for the win. That was until Kevin Yu nailed a 15 foot putt on the 18th to become the leader in the clubhouse (literally) at -23. Hossler’s 18th drive was off but he had a nice rebound for a par to force a playoff. Mitchell 3-putted form 30 feet to miss the playoff all together – that is Mitchell’s 2nd 54-hole lead lost this season. On the playoff hole, Hossler did the same thing he did the first time (missed the fairway) and Yu took advantage. This is Yu’s first win on the PGA Tour and he will be on Tour through 2026.
• Tyrell Hatton tied the Old Course record at St. Andrews during the Dunhill Links with an 61 (-11). He was just off his previous record of -24 finishing with a -22.

What to watch this week

Baseball – MLB:

• Mon 10/7 – ALDS Game 2s
  • ALDS: Tigers at Guardians @ 3:08pm on TBS
  • ALDS: Royals at Yankees @ 6:38pm on TBS
• Tues 10/8 – NLDS Game 3s
  • NLDS: Phillies at Mets @ 4:08pm on FS1
  • NLDS: Dodgers at Padres @ 8:08pm on FS1
• Wed 10/9
  • ALDS: Guardians at Tigers @ 2:08pm on TBS
  • NLDS: Phillies at Mets @ 4:08pm on FS1
  • ALDS: Yankees at Royals @ 6:08pm on TBS
  • NLDS: Dodgers at Padres @ 8:08pm on FS1
• Thurs 10/10 – Game 4s
  • ALDS: Guardians at Tigers @ 5:08pm on TNT
  • ALDS: Yankees at Royals @ 7:08pm on TBS
• Fri 10/11 – If necessary Game 5s
  • NLDS: Mets at Phillies @ 3:08pm on FS1
  • NLDS: Padres at Dodgers on 7:08pm on FOX
• Sat 10/12 – If necessary Game 5s
  • ALDS: Tigers at Guardians @ 3:38pm on TBS
  • ALDS: Royals at Yankees @ 7:08pm on TBS
• Sun 10/13
  • NLCS Game 1 @ TBD on FOX/FS1

Basketball – NBA: Preseason

• Wed 10/9
  • Warriors at Kings @ 9:30pm on ESPN
• Sun 10/13
  • Timberwolves at Knicks @ 5pm on ESPN
  • Suns at Nuggets @ 7:30pm on ESPN

Basketball-WNBA:

• Tues 10/8
  • Game 5: Suns at Lynx @ 7pm on ESPN2
• Thurs 10/10 – Finals
  • Game 1: TBD at Liberty @ 7pm on ESPN
• Sun 10/13
  • TBD at Liberty @ 2pm on ABC

Football – NCAAF:

Top 25
Week 7
Top 25 Games
Visitor	Home	Day	Time (CT)	TV	Line
1. Texas	18. Oklahoma	Sat 10/12	2:30 PM	ABC	TX -14
4. Penn St	USC	Sat 10/12	2:30 PM	CBS	Penn -5.5
2. Ohio St	3. Oregon	Sat 10/12	6:30 PM	NBC	Ohio St -3.5
9. Ole Miss	13. LSU	Sat 10/12	6:30 PM	ABC	Ole -2.5
18. Kansas St	Colorado	Sat 10/12	9:15 PM	ESPN	KSt -4.5
*GameDay indicated in bold*

Football – NFL:

• Mon 10/7
  • Saints at Chiefs @ 7:15pm on ESPN
• Thurs 10/10
  • 49ers at Seahawks @ 7:15pm on Prime
• Sun 10/13
  • Jaguars at Bears @ 8:30am on NFL in London
  • 6 games @ 12pm on CBS & FOX
    • CBS: Colts at Titans, Texans at Patriots, Commanders at Ravens
    • FOX: Cardinals at Packers, Bucs at Saints, Browns at Eagles
  • Chargers at Broncos – or – Steelers at Raiders @ 3:05pm on CBS
  • Lions at Cowboys – or – Falcons at Panthers @ 3:25pm on FOX
  • Bengals at Giants @ 7:20pm on NBC
• Mon 10/14
  • Bills at Jets @ 7:15pm on ESPN
• BYE: Chiefs, Rams, Dolphins and Vikings

Hockey:

• Tues 10/8
  • Blues at Kraken @ 3:30pm on ESPN
  • Bruins at Panthers @ 6pm on ESPN
  • Blackhawks at Utah@ 9pm on ESPN – FIRST GAME FOR THIS TEAM EVER!
• Wed 10/9
  • Rangers at Penguins @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Avalanche at Golden Knights @ 9pm on TNT
• Thurs 10/10
  • Stars at Predators @ 7pm on hulu
  • Blues at Sharks @ 9:25pm on hulu
• Fri 10/11
  • Lightning at Hurricanes @ 6pm on hulu

Olympics Sports:

• Thurs 10/10
  • NCAA Volleyball: Baylor at BYU @ 8pm on FS1

Soccer:

• Thurs 10/10
  • UEFA Nations: ENG vs GRE @ 10pm on FS1
• Sat 10/12
  • UEFA Nations: CRO vs SCO @ 10:50am on FS1
  • UEFA Nations: POL vs POR @ 9:30pm on FS1
• Sun 10/13
  • UEFA Nations: FIN vs ENG @ 10:50am on FS1
  • UEFA Nations: AUT vs NOR @ 8pm on FS1