Yahoo Sports AM: We are so back
Remember when experts warned that the pandemic would forever change sports and that attendance might never return to its pre-pandemic highs? Boy were they wrong.
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🚨 HEADLINES
⚽️ Bring on the postseason: The NWSL playoff field is set following Sunday's grand finale. San Diego and Portland earned byes, while North Carolina, OL Reign, Angel City and Gotham FC secured the other four spots.
🏒 Scoring machine: Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews is on a historic heater to start the season, becoming the fifth player in NHL history (and second since 1918) with consecutive hat tricks in his team's first two games.
⛳️ Stat of the day: Tom Kim won the Shriners Children's Open on Sunday for his third PGA Tour victory. At 21 years, 116 days old, he's the youngest player with three PGA Tour wins since Tiger Woods in 1997 (21 years, 13 days old), per ESPN.
⚽️ Germany 3, USA 1: A spectacular goal from Christian Pulisic wasn't enough for the USMNT as Germany fought back to win 3-1 on Saturday in a friendly in East Hartford, Connecticut.
🏁 Larson wins in Vegas: Kyle Larson edged out Christopher Bell at the finish line on Sunday to clinch the first of four spots in NASCAR's championship race next month at Phoenix Raceway.
🏟️ WE ARE SO BACK
There was a time during the pandemic when live sports as we knew them ceased to exist (think: empty stadiums, cardboard cutouts, "bubbles"). Even when crowds began to trickle back, experts warned that sports attendance might never fully recover.
Newsflash: Boy were they wrong. Three-plus years after COVID, sports stadiums are as full and loud as they've ever been. This weekend was the latest reminder of that, with multiple attendance records being set around the globe — from Iowa to India.
Iowa City, Iowa: Iowa hosted DePaul at Kinnick Stadium on Sunday in front of 55,646 fans, nearly doubling the NCAA women's basketball attendance record. Caitlin Clark had a triple-double (34-11-10) in the exhibition match because of course she did.
Ahmedabad, India: An estimated 134,000 fans flooded into Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday to watch India beat rival Pakistan in the 2023 Cricket World Cup. Only a handful of sporting events in history have drawn a larger stadium crowd.
Brooklyn, New York: The Liberty kept their season alive on Sunday with an 87-73 win over the Aces in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals. The Barclays Center crowd of 17,143 was the largest gate attendance in WNBA Finals history.
Pasadena, California: 86,134 fans packed the Rose Bowl on Sunday for El Clásico de México, a friendly between Liga MX rivals Chivas and Club América. That's the largest crowd ever for a match between two Mexican clubs on U.S. soil.
It's not just this weekend: MLB attendance broke 70 million for the first time since 2017. The 2023 Rugby World Cup shattered the attendance record before the knockout stage even started. Just last week, the NWSL drew its biggest crowd ever. The list goes on and on.
The last word: Our ancestors came out the other side of the 1918 flu pandemic with so much gusto they literally roared into the 1920s. That same spirit is alive a century later, and our sports cathedrals are bearing witness.
🏈 NFL SUNDAY: UNBEATEN NO MORE
50 years ago, the Dolphins completed the only perfect season in NFL history. Congrats Fins, your record will stand for at least one more year.
ICYMI: Sunday began with two undefeated teams and ended with zero after the 49ers and Eagles both suffered losses on the road.
Browns 19, 49ers 17: Rookie kicker Jake Moody missed the potential game-winner from 41 yards out, handing Cleveland the win. Did "icing the kicker" work? We may never know.
Jets 20, Eagles 14: The Eagles had never lost to the Jets entering Sunday. Thanks to another dominant performance by New York's defense, "they ain't 12-0 no more."
Elsewhere:
Bills 14, Giants 9: The G-Men are the first team in the Super Bowl era to lose a game despite having more rushing yards, more passing yards, fewer INTs, fewer fumbles lost and fewer missed field goals than their opponent. Teams had been 134-0 prior to Sunday.
Lions 20, Buccaneers 6: Detroit is 5-1 for the first time since 2011 and has as many wins as the rest of the NFC North combined. It's hard not to be happy for one of the most loyal fanbases in sports.
Raiders 21, Patriots 17: For the first time in his 29-year head coaching career, Bill Belichick is 1-5. The vibes could not be much worse in New England right now.
Dolphins 42, Panthers 21: Miami is the first team since the 1958 Baltimore Colts* to record 15 rushing TDs and 15 receiving TDs through their first six games.
More scores: Ravens 24, Titans 16 (in London); Jaguars 37, Colts 20; Rams 26, Cardinals 9; Vikings 19, Bears 13; Bengals 17, Seahawks 13; Commanders 24, Falcons 16; Texans 20, Saints 13
Quick links:
*The '58 Colts went on to win the NFL championship game, beating the Giants, 23-17 (OT), at Yankee Stadium in "The Best Football Game Ever Played."
🏈 HEISMAN RACE: PENIX HAS HIS MOMENT
Michael Penix Jr. had his Heisman moment on Saturday in Seattle, engineering the game-winning drive to lift Washington past Oregon, 36-33, in a West Coast thriller.
Where it stands: The Huskies gunslinger entered Saturday as the Heisman favorite and emerged with even better odds after beating fellow contender Bo Nix and watching USC's Caleb Williams struggle in a blowout loss to Notre Dame.
Penix Jr. (-145 at BetMGM): The Indiana transfer suffered four straight season-ending injuries as a Hoosier, which is hard to even fathom. Now, he's the talk of college football. He's topped 300 passing yards in all six games — and topped 400 yards in half of them.
Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma (+1000): The UCF transfer had his Heisman moment earlier this month when he threw the game-winner against Texas, one of his 21 TDs this season (16 passing, five rushing). That helped him rise this week despite the Sooners being off.
J.J. McCarthy, Michigan (+1000): The biggest knock against him (which isn't really a knock against him) is the lack of competition and big moments. Michigan is the first team in AP poll history to score 30+ points and allow 10 or fewer points in each of its first seven games.
Jayden Daniels, LSU (+1300): The Arizona State transfer is putting up video game numbers. His 2,809 total yards through seven games leads the nation and he's averaging nearly four TDs per game (26 total: 22 passing, four rushing).
Jordan Travis, FSU (+1300): The Seminoles are 6-0 for the first time since 2015 and their senior leader is a big reason why. The Louisville transfer has accounted for 17 scores (13 passing, four rushing) and hasn't thrown a pick since Week 1.
Drake Maye, UNC (+1400): Devontez "Tez" Walker is finally eligible after transferring from Kent State, and nobody is happier about that than Maye, who threw three TDs to his new wideout on Saturday.
Bo Nix, Oregon (+3000): Losing the head-to-head battle with Penix hurts his candidacy, but Nix is still a legit candidate. The Auburn transfer leads the nation in completion percentage (79.2%) and has committed one turnover all season.
Caleb Williams, USC (+3500): The 2022 Heisman recipient played the worst game of his Trojans career on Saturday (three INTs in the first half), which may have ended his chances of becoming the second two-time winner.
The Heisman's transfer era: Four of the last six Heisman winners were transfers (Baker Mayfield in 2017, Kyler Murray in 2018, Joe Burrow in 2019, Caleb Williams in 2022), and six of the eight contenders listed above are transfers.
AP Top 25… Washington jumped three spots to No. 5 in this week's poll, while USC fell eight spots to No. 18. Undefeated Air Force entered the poll at No. 22.
Must-see clip… Deion Sanders gets the SNL treatment
🌎 THE WORLD IN PHOTOS
Houston — Jordan Montgomery pitched a gem and Leody Taveras went yard to lift the Rangers past the Astros, 2-0, in Game 1 of the ALCS. Texas is now 5-0 on the road this postseason.
Paris — Playing as an underdog for just the sixth time ever, New Zealand beat top-ranked Ireland, 28-24, on Saturday to advance to the Rugby World Cup semifinals. The All Blacks will play Argentina on Friday, with England and South Africa facing off in the other semifinal.
Guilin, China — While you were sleeping, the Tour of Guangxi passed through Guilin, which is one of the most stunning places on planet Earth. It reminds me of Pandora from "Avatar."
⚾️ DAILY RANKING: TOP 10 PLAYERS IN THE ALCS/NLCS
Here are the 10 best players remaining in the MLB postseason, according to us (and we are never wrong). We made our picks based on a combination of factors like season statistics, current form and career playoff performance.
Corey Seager, SS, Rangers: The 2020 World Series MVP had an absurd regular season (.327/.390/.623, 33 HRs, AL-best 42 doubles… in just 119 games) and he's been equally great this postseason, reaching base in 20 of his 31 plate appearances.
Justin Verlander, RHP, Astros: JV is a playoff legend, ranking first in strikeouts (241), second in games started (36) and second in wins (17). He was charged with the loss on Sunday, but make no mistake: The Rangers do not want to face him again.
Bryce Harper, 1B/DH, Phillies: Harper has thrived with the Phillies in October, batting .354/.448/.768 with nine long balls. The brighter the lights, the better he seems to play.
Yordan Álvarez, DH, Astros: This once-in-a-generation slugger is a pitcher's worst nightmare. Don't be surprised if he's issued a few intentional walks in the coming days.
Corbin Carroll, OF, Diamondbacks: The rookie sensation had a historic regular season and hasn't slowed down in the playoffs, batting .412/.565/.824 with two HRs and two steals.
José Altuve, 2B, Astros: A right thumb injury cost him nearly half the season. Now he's feeling good and ready to add to his historic postseason totals.
Trea Turner, SS, Phillies: After a slow start to his Phillies career, Turner bounced back in the second half and hasn't slowed down in October, batting .500 with two HRs and four steals.
Nathan Eovaldi, RHP, Rangers: Surprised to see him here? Don't be. Eovaldi's 2.70 postseason ERA is the third-best over the last decade (minimum 50 IP).
Marcus Semien, 2B, Rangers: He led the AL in games played, plate appearances, runs and hits this season and is the engine that makes the Rangers go.
Nick Castellanos, RF, Phillies: He has four homers in his last two games and is hitting .391 in these playoffs with twice as many extra-base hits (six) as strikeouts (three).
The next 10: Kyle Tucker, RF (Astros); Zack Wheeler, RHP (Phillies); Max Scherzer, RHP (Rangers); Alex Bregman, 3B (Astros); Zac Gallen, LHP (Diamondbacks); Adolis García, RF (Rangers); J.T. Realmuto, C (Phillies); Framber Valdez, LHP (Astros); Ketel Marte, 2B (Diamondbacks); Aaron Nola, RHP (Phillies).
📆 OCT. 16, 1968: FISTS IN THE AIR
55 years ago today, Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos* raised gloved fists in protest of racial injustice during the national anthem at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.
The aftermath: Smith and Carlos, the gold and bronze medalists in the 200 meters, were expelled from the Olympics by the IOC and faced repercussions back home in the U.S. — but also gained respect as heroes of the civil rights movement.
🏈 1999: No. 16 Syracuse lost to No. 4 Virginia, Tech, 62-0, the worst shutout loss by a ranked team in the history of the AP poll (since 1936).
⚽️ 2004: Lionel Messi made his pro debut for Barcelona at age 17, coming on as a sub near the end of a 1-0 victory against crosstown rival Espanyol.
*Fun fact: Smith and Carlos were both NFL draft picks at wide receiver. Smith was a Rams ninth-rounder in 1967 and played two games for the Bengals in 1969. Carlos was an Eagles 15th-rounder in 1970, but hurt his knee and didn’t make the team.
📺 WATCHLIST: PLAYOFF DOUBLEHEADER
The Astros and Phillies host postseason games tonight as the ALCS continues in Houston and the NLCS kicks off in Philadelphia.
ALCS, Game 2 (4:30pm, Fox): Framber Valdez (7-3, 3.82 ERA in 14 career postseason appearances) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (6-3, 2.70 ERA in 13 appearances)
NLCS, Game 1 (8pm, TBS/Max): Zack* Wheeler (2-3, 2.59 ERA in eight appearances) vs. Zac* Gallen (2-0, 3.18 ERA in two appearances)
More to watch:
🏈 NFL: Cowboys at Chargers (ABC/ESPN) … Dallas is the road favorite (-125 at BetMGM).
🏀 NBA preseason: 76ers at Nets (7:30pm, NBA); Trail Blazers at Suns (10pm, NBA)
*Zack vs. Zac: Zachary is the most popular version of that name, per The Bump (301st in popularity). Zack is second (2,795) followed by Zach (5,024), Zac (5,861) and Zak (8,888).
⚾️ MLB TRIVIA
Dusty Baker (54) and Bruce Bochy (50) rank fourth and fifth all-time in postseason wins as a manager.
Question: Who are the three managers ahead of them?
Hint: The last time all three were active at the same time was 2010.
Answer at the bottom.
Stanford wide receiver Elic Ayomanor and Angel City forward Sydney Leroux headline the top 13 plays of the weekend, while Futsal makes its Baker’s Dozen debut.
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Trivia answer: Joe Torre (84 postseason wins), Tony La Russa (71), Bobby Cox (67)
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