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🚨 Headlines
⚾️ Goodbye, Oakland: The Warriors left Oakland in 2019. The Raiders left in 2020. And now the Athletics are saying goodbye. They’ll play their final home game there today.
🏈 NIL dispute in Las Vegas: QB Matthew Sulka, who led UNLV to its first 3-0 record in 40 years, is leaving the team due to NIL disputes. He claims he was promised money he never received and UNLV says his agent made “financial demands” to keep him playing.
💵 History is up for sale: Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball is up for auction at Goldin Auctions, with bidding starting tomorrow for $500,000. There’s also a “buy it now” option for $4.5 million, but that option will disappear if the bid reaches $3 million.
⚾️ 140 RBI: Aaron Judge hit his 57th home run on Wednesday to improve his RBI tally to 142. Judge became the first player to record 140 RBI in a season since Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard in 2009.
🏈 Hunt returns to KC: Six years after being released by the Chiefs, Kareem Hunt is back on the team’s active roster and is set to play Sunday against the Chargers.
⚾️ Hurricane Helen: Wreaking havoc
(Giftie)
The 2024 MLB season was already heading towards a chaotic end with the American and National League wild card races tight. Now, with Hurricane Helen and the league’s decision to cancel “Game 163,” the final day could be thrown into total chaos.
Status: The Braves-Mets games in Atlanta yesterday and today were postponed in preparation for Helen’s landfall, so the teams, just one game apart in the wild-card race, will now play in a doubleheader on Monday for the final playoff spot (unless the race is already decided by then).
This is a nightmare scenario that probably should have been avoided. Both teams had Monday off and could have played a game ahead of the storm.
Instead, the Mets will have to escape Atlanta in the middle of the hurricane, play a final series in Milwaukee and then return to Atlanta for a doubleheader, presumably on Monday before the playoffs begin.
Biggest upset scenario for the Mets: Milwaukee on Sunday, a doubleheader in Atlanta on Monday, then a wild-card game in San Diego or Los Angeles on Tuesday. Four games, three days, three different time zones.
Wild Card Race:
National League: Padres (91-67), Mets (87-70), Diamondbacks (88-71), Braves (86-71)
AL: Orioles (88-70), Tigers (84-74), Royals (84-74), Twins (82-76), Mariners (82-77)
What to watch: MLB did away with the “Game 163” rule for tied games, so if things go well this weekend, it could be a mathematically close contest.
It’s not just baseball…Helen could also wreak havoc on the NFL, college football and MLS schedules.
🏀 Clark out, Final Four confirmed
(Yahoo Sports)
Caitlin Clark’s historic season came to an end Wednesday as the Fever lost to the Sun, 87-81. The freshman had a record of 25-6 with nine ties, while Alyssa Thomas also went 2-0 to help Connecticut post its second straight win.
What’s next for Clark? “I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow or what I’m going to do the day after,” Clark said when asked about his offseason plans. “So, I’m going to play a little bit of golf. I’m going to do that until it gets cold in Indiana. I’m going to be a professional golfer.”
Meanwhile, in Minnesota…Napheesa Collier tied the WNBA playoff record for points (42) to lead the Lynx to a 101-86 win over the Mercury and into the semifinals. Did we just see Diana Taurasi’s last WNBA game?
Final Four: The top four seeds advance to a best-of-five semifinal series, beginning Sunday with (1) New York vs. (4) Las Vegas and (2) Minnesota vs. (3) Connecticut.
📸 The world in pictures
(Los Angeles FC)
LOS ANGELES — LAFC won its first game in six matches and lifted the trophy: The Black and Gold claimed its first U.S. Open Cup title with a 2-1 overtime victory over Sporting Kansas City.
(Matt Dirksen/Getty Images)
CHICAGO — History will have to wait at least one more night for the White Sox to beat the Angels in extra innings and tie the 1962 Mets’ record of 120 losses.
(Ben Ludemann/NHLI via Getty Images)
MUNICH — The Sabres have arrived in Germany for an exhibition game against EHC Red Bull Munich tomorrow before traveling to Prague to take on the Devils in the Global Series opener next week.
(Sandra Montanez/Getty Images)
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — The historic Eugenio Monti sliding track, built for the 1956 Olympics and featured in the 1981 James Bond film “For Your Eyes Only,” is being redeveloped for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
🏈 Alabama vs. Georgia could decide the outcome of the Heisman Trophy race
(Gregory Hodge/Yahoo Sports)
Heisman Trophy candidates Jalen Milroe (Alabama) and Carson Beck (Georgia) will face off in a rematch of last year’s SEC championship game on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, and whichever quarterback wins could be the favorite to win the award.
From Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports:
September is generally too early to start talking about games that will have a major impact on voters’ minds late in the season, but No. 2 Georgia visiting No. 4 Alabama isn’t your typical September game.
Ten months ago, Alabama beat the Bulldogs, 27-24, to qualify for the College Football Playoff. Milroe played the better of the two quarterbacks (13-23, 192, TD) and decided the game on the ground. Beck rushed for the score, completing 21 of 29 attempts for 243 yards.
Both players are entering their first season as starters in 2023, with Beck returning to Athens to play one more season before spending much of the offseason as the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy in 2024. Milroe was also at the top of the BetMGM board, but he too was coming into the season with a new offense to learn under new head coach Cullen DeBoer, and so far, he’s had the better season.
Betting odds (via BetMGM):
Cam Ward, Miami (+375)
Jackson Dart, Ole Miss (+550)
Milroe, Alabama (+700)
Nico Iamareava, Tennessee (+900)
Dillon Gabriel, Oregon (+1000)
Quinn Ewers, Texas (+1400)
Beck, Georgia (+1600)
Travis Hunter, Colorado (+1600)
Ashton Jeanty, Boise State (+2000)
Will Howard, Ohio State (+2000)
WATCH: Why Milroe’s legs are the X-factor on Saturday (College Football Power Hour)
📆 September 26, 1982: A Quiet Sunday
(Sports Illustrated)
Forty-two years ago today, an NFL players strike caused the first in-season work stoppage in league history, and no football games were played on Sunday.
As a result, players lost over $9 million in salary for the day, and teams lost $29 million in television and ticket revenues. When the strike ended after 57 days, half the season had been lost and the financial losses totaled approximately $450 million.
Why did they strike? In March of that year, the NFL signed a five-year, $2 billion broadcasting deal with ABC, CBS and NBC, but player salaries, then averaging $100,000, still depended heavily on ticket sales and merchandise sales.
The players’ union wouldn’t let that happen, demanding higher wages, free agency and 55 percent of league revenues. The owners, naturally, said “no,” and a months-long standoff began.
The strike put pressure on everyone, including the television networks that had just paid billions of dollars to broadcast NFL games. Networks tried to fill the timeslot with the old Super Bowl, D-III college football, and the CFL, but none of it drew significant ratings.
The union organized two All-Star Games to add some money to the players’ pockets, but the controversy continued and fans were so disgruntled that few attended. When asked why he played, Redskins running back John Riggins replied, “I think I’d do anything for money.”
Back in the game: After losing streaks from Week 3 through Week 10, the two sides finally came to an agreement* that significantly increased the minimum wage. The teams ultimately played nine regular season games and, after an expanded 16-team playoff series, the Redskins defeated the Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII. Riggins won the Super Bowl MVP.
*Deja vu: The agreement ended up being more of a stop-gap measure than a real solution, and when it expired five years later, more strikes followed, including the infamous 1987 strike, which saw substitutes used for three weeks of the season.
📺 Watchlist: Presidents Cup
A fan wearing an oversized hat poses during a practice round on Wednesday. (Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
The 15th Presidents Cup kicks off today (11:30 a.m. ET, Golf/Peacock) at Royal Montreal, where Team USA* will be looking for its 10th consecutive victory over Team International** (excluding Europe) in the biennial tournament.
How it works: Teams will compete in three different match play formats over the next four days: Fourball (best ball) today and Saturday, Foursomes (alternate shots) Friday and Saturday, and singles on Sunday. A total of 30 matches will be played, with 15.5 points needed to win the title.
See also:
🏈 NFL: Cowboys vs. Giants (8:15 p.m., Primetime)
⚾️ MLB: Padres vs Dodgers (10:10 p.m., MLB)
🏈 NCAAF: Army vs. Temple University (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
*USA Team: Scottie Scheffler (World Ranking #1), Xander Schauffele (#2), Collin Morikawa (#3), Wyndham Clark (#6), Patrick Cantlay (#9), Sahith Teegala (#11), Keegan Bradley (#13), Russell Henley (#14), Sam Burns (#19), Brian Harman (#22), Tony Finau (#23), Max Homa (#25).
**Team International: Hideki Matsuyama (7), Adam Scott (18), Sung-jae Lim (21), Tom Kim (24), Jason Day (33), Byung-hun Ahn (34), Corey Connors (37), Min Woo Lee (40), Taylor Pendrith (44), Christian Bezuidenhout (45), Si Woo Kim (49), Mackenzie Hughes (61)
🏈 Stadium Trivia
(Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Temple University will host Army tonight at Lincoln Financial Field, which it shares with the Eagles.
Temple University is one of five FBS teams that share their home stadium with an NFL team.
Question: Can you name the other four?
Hint: two are in Florida.
The answer is at the bottom.
🇨🇦 Tweet of the Day: Royal Mount Royal
(@ShaneRyanHere)
This reminded me of something I often think about…the Los Angeles Angels are literally “The Angels Angels.”
Trivia answer: Miami (Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium), Pittsburgh (Steelers’ Acrisure Stadium), USF (Buccaneers’ Raymond James Stadium), UNLV (Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium).
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