🔥 Weekend Fun: NFL Week 3, College Football, WNBA Playoffs, MLB + More!

Good Morning, Blitzers!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Do you need a pick me up? We got you covered. Lots of sports to go over with College Football, NFL, MLB, WNBA, and more! Let’s do it!

WTF Stat: The Chicago White Sox lost their 120th game of the season, tying modern MLB record. They tied the 1962 Mets who also lost 120 games. They have a chance to break the infamous record on Tuesday at home against the Los Angeles Angels.

🏀 Alyssa Thomas led the Connecticut Sun to a 93-69 victory over the Indiana Fever in their WNBA playoff opener, achieving her fourth career triple-double with 12 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds. It was Caitlin Clark's postseason debut, she finished with 11 points (4-17 shooting). Clark was also voted Rookie of the Year yesterday.

• 🔥Take: I’m a Caitlin Clark fan, but there’s no way to sugar coat this one, that was a tough opening game. The WNBA playoff format is best-of-three in the first round, so the Fever will look to avoid a playoff exit for their next game, Wednesday at 7:30 EST.

• Elsewhere, the Liberty beat the Dream 83-69, The Lynx beat the Mercury 102-95, the Aces beat the Storm 78-67. None of the games were super close outside of the Aces vs. Storm, until the 4th quarter when the Aces pulled away only allowing 2 points the whole quarter.

⚾️ The Cincinnati Reds have fired manager David Bell after six seasons, following a 2-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Reds' president of baseball operations Nick Krall stated that a change was necessary to improve the team's performance, as they currently hold a 76-81 record and sit fourth in the NL Central. Bell, who was hired in 2018, had a record of 409-456, and led the team to a postseason berth in 2020.

• 🔥Take: This has to be one of the best jobs you can get as a baseball manager. You have a young up-and-coming team led by super star Elly De La Cruz (22), and your pitching staff should be strong for as well with Hunter Green (24), Andrew Abbott, and Rookie Rhett Lowder (22).

NFL Week 3

What You Missed

→ The Vikings (3-0) are for real - After pulling up the upset against the 49ers, the Vikings showed that it wasn’t just a fluke, following it up with a trouncing of the Texans, 34-7. QB Sam Darnold continues to prove people wrong, throwing for 4 TDs, and now leads the NFL with 8 touchdowns on the season.

→ Ravens get their first win 28-25 against the Cowboys - This one ended up a lot closer than it should have been (the Cowboys scored 19 unanswered in the 4th quarter), but the Ravens were able to pull out their first victory of the season. This is still one of the most dangerous teams in the NFL, and with RB Derrick Henry running angry (25 carries, 141 yards, 2 TDs), no one wants to face them.

→ The Chiefs (3-0) still know how to win close games - they’ve won their first 3 games by 7 points or less, with every game so far coming down seemingly to the last play. They never make it easy, but the Chiefs just find ways to win close games, it’s why they’re back-to-back champions and 3-0 to start the season.

What We Learned

→ Maybe Tennessee is the problem - QB Malik Willis was unceremoniously cut by the Titans at the beginning of the season. Many, myself included, thought that may be the last we hear from Willis, if you can’t cut it on a bad Titans team, you won’t be able to make it anywhere else. Wrong. Willis took over week 2 for an injured QB Jordan Love and all he has done is go 2-0, including beating his former team 30-14. Meanwhile, Titans starter QB Will Levis continues to struggle and has forced head coach Brian Callahan to come out and back him.

→ RB Saquon Barkley signing is looking pretty smart - Barkley signed a 3-year, $37.75 million dollar contract with the Eagles in the offseason. Many thought they overpaid and should have just re-signed proven Eagles back D’Andre Swift (who signed for 3-years, $24.5 million with the Bears). But after 3 games Barkley leads the NFL in rushing yards (351), Rushing TDs (4) and has been a weapon out of the backfield. Swift on the other hand, has 68 yards rushing (1.8 YPC) and 0 TDs so far.

→ QB Andy Dalton still has some gas in the tank - Dalton replaced QB Bryce Young and led the Panthers to their first win of the season. The Panthers offense finally showed signs of life defeating the streaky Raiders 36-22. Dalton threw for 319 yards and 3 TDs in the win.

Surprises

→ The Steelers are 3-0 - Offensively they’re in the bottom half of the league in almost every statistical category. But they continue to find ways to win (even if they were helped out by QB Justin Herbert’s injury).

→ Rams pull off the comeback victory against the 49ers - The Rams came into the game banged up and as heavy underdogs, then went down 14-0 immediately. This one looked like it was headed for a blowout but they rallied back to pull an upset win 27-24. A huge punt return by Xavier Smith late in the game helped setup the winning field goa. were helped

→ QB Bo Nix and the Broncos get their first win - another big upset win. Just when I was ready to jump on board the QB Baker Mayfield bandwagon the Broncos defense comes in and dominates in a 26-7 victory.

Standouts

→ Rookie WR Malik Nabers is the real deal. He now has 23 receptions, 271 yards, 3 touchdowns and a handful of highlight reel catches. He also helped the Giants beat the Cleveland Browns 21-15.

→ Rookie QB Caleb Williams (33/52, 363 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INT) & WR Rome Odunze (6 receptions, 112 yards, 1 TD), put up great numbers in a losing effort (21-16 to the Colts). The Bears offense was pretty hit-or-miss and way too sloppy (4 turnovers) on the day, but you can see the potential.

→ Lions rushing attack - RBs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs continue to be the best 1-2 punch in the NFL, putting up a combined 188 yards rushing and a TD, and getting involved in the awesome hook-n-ladder play above.

🏈 Tonight

Note we have two football games tonight, the Jaguars @ Bills kicks off at 7:30 EST on ESPN and Commanders @ Bengals kicks off at 8:15 EST on ABC.

College Football Roundup

The Shocker

James Madison 70 - UNC 50: No, basketball season hasn’t started yet, this was a real score and holy smokes did the Dukes put it on the Tar Heels. UNC has some injury problems, especially at the quarterback position, but there’s no excuse to let a Sun Belt come into your house and rub their muddy boots all over your nice living room rug that you just steam cleaned and are very proud of–you get it.

Statement Games

Michigan 27 - USC 24: The Wolverines only managed 32 pass yards, but in a performance that would make Bear Bryant proud, they grinded their way to a victory over USC and an undefeated start to B1G conference play.

Illinois 31 - Nebraska 24 (OT) : Bret Bielema’s boys are cookin’! Illinois is 4-0 with wins over ranked opponents Kansas (they’re booty but were ranked at the time), and now a road win over Nebraska.

Tennessee 25 - Oklahoma 15: Calling the Volunteers opening schedule a cake-walk would be an insult to cake and walks, but they went into Norman and proved that they’re opening success may not be a fluke.

Utah 22 - Oklahoma State 19: Stillwater isn’t an easy place to win and the Utes in its Big 12 debut secured a crucial victory on its march to a playoff berth.

Clemson 59 - NC State 35: A John Wick moment for Dabo and the Tigers, 28 points in the 1st quarter against what was thought to be a solid NC State team.

That Could Have Been Embarrassing

Missouri 30 - Vanderbilt 27 (OT): Coming off a near loss to BC, the Tigers followed up with a narrow conference opening win against Vanderbilt. Is Missouri the most overrated team in the country, or is Vanderbilt not a doormat this year?

Florida State 14 - California 9: The ‘Noles needed a 4th quarter touchdown to put away Cal at home for its first win of the season.

That is Embarrassing

BYU 38 - Kansas State 9: The 13th ranked Wildcats were coming off a big win over Arizona, went into Provo and got absolutely stomped by the Cougars. BYU is 4-0 and put its hat in the ring for the wild extravaganza that will be the race for the Big 12 title game.

Rutgers 26 - Virginia Tech 23: The once mighty Hokies have lost to two major P4 powerhouses…Vanderbilt and Rutgers…the latter at home.

Video Game Stats

QB Blake Horvath (Navy): 9/12, 192 yds, 2 TD, 12 car, 211 yds, 4 TD

QB Alonza Barnett (JMU): 22/34, 388 yds, 5 TD, 13 car, 99 yds, 2 TD

QB John Mateer (Wazzu): 26/46, 390 yds, 4 TD, 18 car, 111 yds, TD

RB Kaleb Johnson (Iowa): 21 car, 206 yds, 3 TD

WR Trey Harris (Ole Miss): 11 rec, 225 yds, 2 TD

WR Devonte Ross (Troy): 11 rec, 229, 3 TD

Top Ten Power Rankings

*Note this isn’t an AP Top 25, this is who I think are the best ten teams after this week. Come at me.

1. Georgia - Bye

2. Texas - W vs. ULM, 51-3

3. Ohio State - W vs. Marshall, 49-14

4. Alabama - Bye

5. Ole Miss - W vs. Georgia Southern, 52-13

6. Tennessee - W vs. Oklahoma, 25-15

7. Miami - W vs. USF, 50-15

8. Oregon - Bye

9. Utah - W vs. OK State, 22-19

10. Penn State - W vs. Kent State, 56-0

Knocking on the Door: Michigan, Clemson, USC

Premier League Weekend Recap

Chuffed

1. Chelsea - Chelsea went into crosstown foe, West Ham, and put the smack down on the Hammers, 3-0.

2. Liverpool - The Reds rebounded nicely after its 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest with a 3-0 masterclass against Bournemouth at home.

3. Tottenham - The Spurs went down 1-0 in the 1st minute, then scored 3 unanswered to give its supporters a sigh of relief and snap a two game losing skid.

Gutted

1. Arsenal - In the match of the week, the Gunners had Manchester City on the ropes only to give up a 98th minute game-tying goal.

2. Manchester United - The calls for Ten Hag’s job will start to become louder after a nil-nil draw against Crystal Palace.

3. Newcastle - Money can’t solve everything, the Magpies get stuffed on the road, 3-1, by Fulham.

Five Stars

1. Luis Diaz (Liverpool) - Two goals in under two minutes to push Liverpool over Bournemouth

2. Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea) - Two goals, assist vs. West Ham

3. Morgan Rogers (Villa) - Two assists in Aston Villa’s 3-1 win over Wolves

4. Son Heung-Min (Spurs) - Two assists in Tottenham’s victory over Brentford

5. John Stones (Man City) - The centre back powered home a 98th minute header to steal a draw for City

The Mint Matches of the Week

Saturday

Newcastle vs. Man City - 7:30 AM EST

Arsenal vs. Leicester - 10:00 AM EST

Wolves vs. Liverpool - 12:30 PM EST

Sunday

Man United vs. Spurs - 11:30 PM EST

MLB - Top Games

• Tigers 4, Orioles 3: The Tigers held off the Orioles, with help from Kerry Carpenter’s 2 HRs. Carpenter has only played 82 games this season due to injury, but has amassed 17 HRS, 52 RBIs while OPS’ing .952.

• Braves 5, Mariners 4: Matt Olson is singlehandedly trying to carry the Braves into the playoffs. The past two weeks he has batted .396, with 4 HRs, 20 RBI. However, the Mets continue to win, the Diamondbacks may be in play now.

•  Brewers 10, Diamondbacks 9: Despite lighting up Brewers starter Frankie

  Montas for 8 runs, the Diamondbacks were unable to hold onto the lead, as their bullpen let up 7 runs the final three innings.

• Mets 2, Phillies 1: The Mets win in a pitchers duel, with their bullpen (Maton, Butto, Díaz) coming in and provide 5 innings of 1-hit ball.

See the full MLB scoreboard here and the current standings here.

On this day in 1988, Jose Canseco is baseball's 1st to steal 40 bases & hit 40 HRs and join the “40/40 club”. He would later be joined by Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Alfonso Soriano (2006), Ronald Acuña Jr. (2023) and of course Shohei Ohtani (2024) who is the first to join the 50/50 club.

Friday’s Trivia Time Answer

Who was the last Tennessee Volunteers QB to have three 10-win seasons?

B) Peyton Manning - Manning went, 7-1 as a Freshman after winning the job mid season. The following years he went 11-1, 10-2, and 11-2. He finished his career with 11,201 yards passing and 89 TDs.

Check back on tomorrow for today’s trivia answer and more info!