Good morning! Today is October 7th, and the NHL regular season is officially here. Be sure to check out “Lighting the Lamp,“ where Jacob Rothenberg has you covered on all you need to know for the NHL season. The Dodgers and Brewers both took 2-0 series leads after record-breaking performances last night, and Trevor Lawrence notched his first win against Patrick Mahomes, ending the Chiefs’ eight-game win streak against the Jags. We introduce The Two-Minute Drill, The Hook and Ladder is back, and more. Make sure to keep reading and check it out!
The Game Plan:
The Must Knows
NFL
The Jaguars beat the Chiefs 31-28, helped by Devin Lloyd’s 99-yard touchdown, which became the longest regular-season interception return by a linebacker in NFL history.
Chargers RB Omarion Hampton is headed to IR with an ankle injury and will miss at least four weeks.
Make sure to put in your waiver claims for Hassan Haskins who is expected to be the starter.
Former NFL quarterback and current Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez now faces a felony battery charge after a weekend altercation, prosecutors in Indianapolis announced.
MLB
The Dodgers beat the Phillies 4-3 and have now scored at least four runs in 13 straight postseason games, tying the 1970–71 Orioles for the longest streak in playoff history.
The Brewers took a 2–0 series lead behind two three-run homers, the first and second in franchise postseason history.
NBA
LeBron James teased that “The Second Decision” will take place at 12 p.m. ET today, with many suspecting it’s tied to Amazon Prime Day.
Ja Morant is considered week-to-week after spraining his left ankle in practice.
NHL
Connor McDavid re-signed with the Oilers on a two-year deal worth $12.5 million per year.
MLB Baseball
Yesterday's MLB Recap:
LOS ANGELES DODGERS 4 @ 3 PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Blake Snell's dominant start set the stage for the Dodgers' bullpen to secure a nail-biting 4-3 victory over the Phillies, despite a ninth-inning rally sparked by Nick Castellanos' two-run double.
Blake Snell (LAD): 6.0 IP, 1 H, 9 K, 4 BB
Jesús Luzardo (PHI): 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 5 K, 1 BB
CHICAGO CUBS 3 @ 7 MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Andrew Vaughn and Jackson Chourio each hit three-run homers, while William Contreras broke a 3-3 tie with a solo shot, leading the Brewers to a 7-3 victory over the Cubs and a 2-0 lead in the Division Series.
Shota Imanaga (CHC): 2.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 K
Aaron Ashby (MIL): 1.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 1 K, 2 BB
Seiya Suzuki (CHC): 1 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Jackson Chourio (MIL): 2 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Today's MLB Games:
NFL Football
The Two-Minute Drill: Week 5
By: Danny Rothenberg
Another week is in the books, and away teams dominated it. Away teams won 10 out of 14 games, and just like that, the league is out of perfect records. Somewhere down in Florida, the ‘72 Dolphins popped the corks again, celebrating the Eagles’ and Bills’ losses and another year as the NFL’s only team to go undefeated and win the Super Bowl. This was the earliest that every team had at least one loss since 2014, when every team had lost by week 4. Eagles and Bills fans, I wouldn’t panic yet. Since 2000, 94% of the last unbeaten teams have made the playoffs.
The Cardinals Crash
Along with some first losses, we saw the Titans and Saints get their first wins of the season, thanks to some sloppy play from their opponent. The Cardinals basically handed the Titans their win because of two crazy turnovers in the fourth quarter. The first was by running back Emari Demercado, who ran 72 yards just to drop the ball early before crossing the goal line, turning a long touchdown into a touchback for the Titans. The second was one of the wilder sequences you’ll ever see as Titans QB Cam Ward threw an interception that was then fumbled on the return, kicked into the end zone, and then somehow recovered by Titans WR Tyler Lockett for a touchdown. The Titans would go on to put the Cardinals out of their misery with a game-winning field goal as time expired.
Keeping Up With the Joneses
Keeping up with the Joneses never felt more literal with Mac Jones and Daniel Jones bringing their teams to 4-1 on the season. Both joined new teams as presumed backups, but have found themselves putting the league on notice. Mac is 3-0 and averaging over 300 passing yards per game as the injured Brock Purdy’s replacement, and Daniel beat out Anthony Richardson Sr. in camp and is now averaging over 250 passing yards per game and has nine total touchdowns to show for it. Maybe a change of scenery was all that was needed for them.
Rookie Risers
Did you have Mike Evans or Austin Ekeler on your fantasy team? If you did, I hope you also took the rookie behind them. Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka and Commanders RB Bill Croskey Merritt shone in the week 5 spotlight, taking advantage of their increased playing time due to team injuries. Egbuka posted career highs with 7 receptions and 163 yards along with a touchdown in a big road win over the Seahawks, claiming Baker's WR1 spot. Croskey Merritt was not far behind him with 14 carries for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns, all career bests, leading the Commanders to a road win against the Chargers.
Yesterday's NFL Recap:
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 28 @ 31 JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Trevor Lawrence scrambled for a 1-yard touchdown with just 23 seconds left on the clock, breaking an eight-game losing streak against the Chiefs and securing a 31-28 victory for the Jacksonville Jaguars, despite Patrick Mahomes' efforts to rally Kansas City to a late lead.
Patrick Mahomes (KC): 318 YDS (29/41), 1 TD, 1 INT, 60 RUSH YDS, 1 RUSH TD
Trevor Lawrence (JAX): 221 YDS (18/25), 1 TD, 1 INT, 54 RUSH YDS, 2 RUSH TD
Kareem Hunt (KC): 7 ATT, 49 YDS, 2 TD
NHL Hockey
Lighting the Lamp: Season Preview
By: Jacob Rothenberg
In the 2024-2025 NHL season, Alex Ovechkin scored goal #895 of his career to pass Wayne Gretzky for most NHL goals of all time. The Four Nations Faceoff brought the first best-on-best international play in 9 years. Gabriel Landeskog returned to the NHL for the first time since the 2022 Stanley Cup and scored, reclaiming his spot as captain of the Colorado Avalanche. Star forward Mikko Rantanen was traded twice and scored a hat-trick against his old team to eliminate them from the playoffs.
In those playoffs, we featured some of the best matchups we have seen in recent memory, with no first-round sweeps, plenty of overtime action, and last-second goals. The rookies were fantastic, with Lane Hutson (Canadiens), Macklin Celebrini (Sharks), Matvei Michkov (Flyers), and Dustin Wolf (Flames) all being standout players for their teams. The Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup, in no small part due to their trade acquisitions of Brad Marchand and Seth Jones, in a packed and dramatic trade deadline.
This offseason has had plenty of action too. Mitch Marner, who was a standout player for the Toronto Maple Leafs for the past nine years, was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Ducks will look different as Trevor Zegras is headed to Philadelphia, and long-time New York Ranger Chris Kreider will be joining the guys in Anaheim. The Panthers managed to re-sign their key players, Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, and Aaron Ekblad. Phenom Kiril Kaprizov recently signed a contract for 8 years, $16 million/year with his current team, the Minnesota Wild, which makes him the highest paid player in total contract (and per year) in the salary cap era. Connor McDavid is in the final year of his contract, and fans across the league are speculating about his intentions as he has not committed to returning to Edmonton.
Two-time Stanley Cup winner and future Hall of Famer, Anze Kopitar, will play his final season with the Los Angeles Kings. The most prolific scorer of all time, Alex Ovechkin, will captain the Washington Capitals in what many suspect will be his final season. Three-time Stanley Cup Champion Jonathan Toews will make his NHL comeback playing his first games with the Winnipeg Jets since his 14-year career with the Blackhawks ended in 2023.
If this wasn’t enough excitement for you, there will be a break from the NHL for a few weeks in February when we will see the sport’s biggest stars facing off for their countries in the Olympics in Milan. After the fireworks we saw last year in the Four Nations Faceoff, it promises to be an electric tournament. With preseason action starting on September 20th, the 2025-2026 season is already underway. Regular season action begins October 7th. Happy hockey season to all!
Today's NHL Games:
College Football
The Hook and Ladder: Week 6
By: David Keller
The Hook: 3 Things to Know
Realignment Road Upsets
Penn State and Texas both came into the season with high hopes and (what they thought were) NFL-ready quarterbacks. Both programs suffered early close losses at the hands of the top 3 teams. On Saturday, both programs were upset on the road in unfamiliar stadiums.
#9 Texas’ loss 29-21 @ Florida was the Longhorns' first trip to The Swamp since 1940; this win also likely buys Billy Napier at least one more year at the helm in Gainesville. It wasn’t #7 Penn State’s first trip to the Rose Bowl, but the 42-37 defeat at the hands of 25.5 point underdog UCLA was the first matchup in Pasadena against the Bruins.
On Sunday, both programs fell out of the AP poll.
Miami Masterclass
#3: Miami opened its season with a gauntlet. 4 of their first 5 games have been AP-ranked matchups, and they have passed each test with flying colors. The most recent was on Saturday when they ventured into a tough road environment against in-state rival #18 Florida State. The final score was 28-22, but Miami had firm control for almost the entirety of the game. The fourth-quarter flurry from the Seminoles was futile at best. The ‘Canes will get a much-deserved rest this week.
No Longer Perfect
For the loyal readers who read last week’s ladder about pretenders noted that I had Iowa State as my #1 pretender. I thought their #14 ranking was unfounded, as they didn’t have any quality wins. The Cyclones went into Nippert Stadium against 4-1 Cincinnati with a slow start and were not able to recover. Maybe I do know ball.
The Ladder: Good Pulls in 2035
We’ve all sat around with the boys and naming random football players from 2015. These players will be good pulls in a decade+ when it gets to the point of the night when you’re naming former athletes.
Basketball
NBA
14 Days Until Tipoff
WNBA Finals
Aces Lead the Mercury 2-0