Good morning! It’s October 9th and the postseason spotlight is shining bright across every sport. The Blue Jays punched their ticket to their first ALCS in nearly a decade, Kyle Schwarber keeps climbing the post season record books, and A’ja Wilson beat the buzzer to put the Aces a win away from another title. Meanwhile, Jack Eichel got paid, the NCAA might be ready to let their players gamble? and Cristiano Ronaldo just became a billionaire. Yesterday was an absolutely loaded day so make sure to catch it all.
The Game Plan:
The Must Knows
NFL
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor announced that Joe Flacco will start Sunday vs. Green Bay. If he wins, he joins Jack Kemp (1962) as the only QBs since 1950 to beat the same team twice in one year with two different teams.
MLB
The Blue Jays beat the Yankees 5-2 to punch their first ALCS ticket since 2016. They’re now four wins from their first trip to the World Series in over 30 years.
The Phillies rolled past the Dodgers 8-2 to stay alive, with Kyle Schwarber’s two homers moving him into third all-time in postseason history.
The Tigers took down the Mariners 9–3 with Javier Báez driving in four runs and hitting his first postseason homer in eight years.
The Cubs beat the Brewers 5–4 as Michael Busch’s leadoff homer set the tone, making him the first player to hit multiple leadoff home runs in the same postseason series.
NCAAF
The NCAA has approved a proposal that would allow college athletes and staff to bet on professional sports. It still needs approval from all three divisions before becoming official, but it would represent a major shift in the NCAA’s long-standing stance on gambling. Betting on college games would remain banned.
Reports out of the University of North Carolina say school officials have started talking about a possible exit plan for Bill Belichick as NCAA rules issues pile up. The school is reportedly exploring ways to reduce his buyout.
NHL
Jack Eichel signed an eight-year, $108 million deal to stay with the Golden Knights after putting up a career-best 94 points last season.
Leon Draisaitl opened the season with career goal No. 400, the ninth-fastest ever by a player born outside North America. Only Alex Ovechkin reached it quicker among active players.
WNBA
A’ja Wilson hit a game winning shot with 0.3 seconds on the clock to put the Aces up 3-0 in the WNBA Finals.
Soccer
Cristiano Ronaldo is officially the first active soccer player to become a billionaire, per Bloomberg, following his $400 million Al Nassr contract and endorsement deals with Nike and Armani.
NFL Football

TNF - What’s Good?
By: Justin Fishman
Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Giants
This must be a blowout right? I mean the Giants are down to Slayton and Jalin Hyatt as their top two wideouts, and Slayton had two drops and a fumble last week.... We may see quarterback Jaxson Dart rely heavily on Theo Johnson (3 TDs in Dart’s 2 starts) and Skattebo (14 receptions in his last three games). The Eagles hope to get AJ Brown more involved as he has only caught 19 of his 36 targets this year and has only found the end zone once. Saquon fantasy owners relax, although limited in practice, Saquon is expected to play.
The eagles lead the Giants 95-88-2 in the all time series. These teams have split the last 6 matchups in MetLife, with the most recent being a 28-3 Eagles victory. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, it’s been ten years since the G-men have won on TNF.
Hmmm 🤔:
Theo Johnson anytime TD: +360. If you’d like to be greedy: +1900 first TD, +3500 2+ TD’s.
Skattebo receptions: 3+ receptions +113. Cam is averaging 4.7 in his last three games.
AJ Brown yards: O/U 64.5. Brown has only eclipsed 50 yards once all year.
Spread: NYG +7. The Eagles have beat the Giants by 7+ in 4 of the last 5 times they’ve played.
Week 6 of the Season Kicks Off Tonight!
Today’s NFL Games:


Throwback Thursday
By: Andrew Gersh
The Atlanta Asswhooping (10/7/1916)
You think your college football team has had bad Saturdays? Well, at least they’ve never pulled a Cumberland. Back in 1916, poor Cumberland College showed up to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech and somehow lost 222–0. That’s not a typo. Georgia Tech scored on every single possession, Cumberland didn’t get one first down, and the refs actually shortened the last two quarters out of mercy. As the story goes, Cumberland embarrassed Georgia Tech’s baseball team the previous year, so they wanted revenge… and they sure got it. Fun fact: the coach of Georgia Tech at the time was John William Heisman (yes, that Heisman).
The Perfect Pitcher (10/8/1956)
74 years ago yesterday, Don Larsen made history becoming the only person to throw a perfect game in the world series. In game 5 of the 1956 world series, the New York Yankees defeated Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers in spectacular fashion. Larsen allowed no runs, no hits, no walks, no baserunners. It only took 97 pitches, and on top of that, only one batter even made it to a 3-ball count… They then went on to win the World Series in 7 games.
The Duel in Dallas (10/6/2013)
12 years ago, Peyton Manning and the Broncos moved to 5-0, defeating the Cowboys 51-48 in a game that only featured one punt. Peyton and Romo combined for 920 air yards and when you hear the list of touchdown scorers, it will feel like a time capsule from your high school fantasy league: Julius Thomas, Eric Decker, Wes Welker, Knowshon Moreno, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, Cole Beasley, and Demarco Murray. After being tied 48-48, Romo threw a pick to Gavin Escobar, which led to a game-winning 28-yard FG by Matt Prater (who is still rocking and currently tied for 6th in field goals made this season for the Bills). Fun fact: Peyton had -8 yards rushing and a rushing TD.
MLB Baseball
Yesterday's MLB Recap:
SEATTLE MARINERS 3 @ 9 DETROIT TIGERS
Riley Greene and Javier Báez electrified Comerica Park with important home runs during a four-run sixth inning, leading the Tigers to a 9-3 victory over the Mariners and forcing a Game 5 in the American League Division Series.
Bryce Miller (SEA): 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 K
Casey Mize (DET): 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 6 K, 2 BB
Javier Báez (DET): 2 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI
MILWAUKEE BREWERS 3 @ 4 CHICAGO CUBS
Pete Crow-Armstrong's two-run single highlighted a four-run first inning for the Cubs, who narrowly escaped a series sweep by outlasting the Brewers 4-3.
Quinn Priester (MIL): 0.2 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 1 K, 2 BB
Jameson Taillon (CHC): 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 K, 1 BB
TORONTO BLUE JAYS 5 @ 2 NEW YORK YANKEES
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s clutch hitting and Nathan Lukes' important two-run single lifted the Blue Jays past the Yankees, 5-2, securing their first trip to the ALCS in nine years.
Louis Varland (TOR): 1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 K
Cam Schlittler (NYY): 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 2 K
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES 8 @ 2 LOS ANGELES DODGERS
With Kyle Schwarber's two home-runs, including a historic shot that soared over the right-field pavilion, the Phillies took the momentum to an 8-2 victory, denying the Dodgers a series sweep in Game 3 of the NL Division Series.
Aaron Nola (PHI): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 3 K
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD): 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 K, 1 BB
Kyle Schwarber (PHI): 2 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI
Today's MLB Games:

NHL Hockey
Yesterday's NHL Recap:
MONTREAL CANADIENS 2 @ 5 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
Morgan Rielly's third-period goal led the Maple Leafs to a 5-2 victory over the Canadiens, with William Nylander contributing three points and Auston Matthews icing the game with an empty-netter, while Oliver Kapanen scored his first NHL goal for Montreal.
Sam Montembeault (MTL): 22 saves, 3 GA, 88.0% SV
Anthony Stolarz (TOR): 29 saves, 2 GA, 93.5% SV
William Nylander (TOR): 1 Goal, 2 Assists, +/- 2
BOSTON BRUINS 3 @ 1 WASHINGTON CAPITALS
In Marco Sturm's victorious coaching debut, David Pastrnak dazzled with a goal and two assists while Jeremy Swayman stopped 35 shots, as the Bruins weathered a momentum-shifting equalizer from Tom Wilson to defeat the Capitals 3-1.
Jeremy Swayman (BOS): 35 saves, 1 GA, 97.2% SV
Logan Thompson (WSH): 18 saves, 2 GA, 90.0% SV
David Pastrnak (BOS): 1 Goal, 2 Assists, +/- 2
CALGARY FLAMES 4 @ 3 EDMONTON OILERS
Nazem Kadri clinched a 4-3 victory for the Flames over the Oilers with a shootout goal in the eighth round, capping a comeback that overshadowed Leon Draisaitl's milestone 400th NHL goal after the Oilers squandered a 3-0 lead.
Dustin Wolf (CGY): 32 saves, 3 GA, 91.4% SV
Stuart Skinner (EDM): 19 saves, 3 GA, 86.4% SV
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (EDM): 1 Goal, 2 Assists, +/- 0
LOS ANGELES KINGS 6 @ 5 VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
The Kings overcame Pavel Dorofeyev's hat trick and Mitch Marner's Vegas debut with a 6-5 shootout victory, as Adrian Kempe and Trevor Moore clinched the win after Moore and Brandt Clarke's late goals forced overtime.
Anton Forsberg (LA): 30 saves, 5 GA, 85.7% SV
Adin Hill (VGK): 21 saves, 5 GA, 80.8% SV
Jack Eichel (VGK): 1 Goal, 3 Assists, +/- 2
Pavel Dorofeyev (VGK): 3 Goals, +/- 0
Today's NHL Games:

Basketball
NBA
12 Days Until Tipoff
WNBA
Yesterday's WNBA Recap:
LAS VEGAS ACES 90 @ 88 PHOENIX MERCURY
MVP A’ja Wilson put on a show as she scored 34 points including the game winning shot with 0.3 seconds on the clock, shutting down the Mercury’s comeback efforts after being down by as much as 16 in the second half
A'ja Wilson (LV): 34 PTS, 14 REB
DeWanna Bonner (PHX): 25 PTS, 10 REB