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[Posted Sunday PM before late football, the baseball playoffs, and golf.]
Brief Add-on up top Tues. AM.
World Series MVP Quiz: The award was first presented in 1955. 1) Name the only four players to win the award multiple times. 2) Name the only two players who were both MVP for the season and then World Series MVP the same year. Answers below.
MLB Postseason….
In the Wild Card series….
–The Yankees blasted the Red Sox 9-0, 9-2 to advance as it was kind of a tale of two managers.
New York’s Aaron Boone stretched out his starters, Boston’s Chad Tracy didn’t and the Red Sox paid a price.
In the first game, Cam Schlittler pitched a heroic 6 1/3, two hits, 10 strikeouts, and 117 pitches! For Boston, Patrick Tolle went 4 2/3, one run, 83 pitches, was removed, the roof caved in.
[Ben Rice had a grand slam and six RBIs for New York.]
In the second game, New York’s Max Fried went 6 innings, one run, 98 pitches. Boston’s Sonny Gray, who won 18 games this season, went only 4 2/3, two runs, just 70 pitches, was removed, and the roof caved in again.
[Cody Bellinger, four RBIs, had the crushing 3-run homer in a 6-run sixth for the Yanks.]
On to Tampa Bay went New York. Back home to have some chowdah went the Red Sox.
–The White Sox, with a full Papal blessing in their pockets, dispatched of the Astros down in gloomy Houston, 6-3, 7-3.
They now face the Guardians in an intriguing matchup.
–The Padres easily handled the Cubs, 8-0, 4-1, hitting three homers in the first game, Michael King taking a no-hitter into the 7th (he went seven innings, one hit).
San Diego fans were thrilled to see pitcher Joe Musgrove return in the top of the ninth to finish it out.
Musgrove, a local favorite, had last pitched Oct. 2, 2024 – a playoff game against the Braves – and missed the entire 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and then experiencing setbacks in his rehab in 2026 that kept him sidelined. But he pitched in an instructional league game two weeks ago and then batting practice, and they put him on the playoff roster.
He has the only no-hitter in franchise history and was an All-Star in 2022.
In the second game, just as I had hoped, Wake Forest’s Gavin Sheets had a big 2-run, pinch homer that was the decisive blow for San Diego, five Padres pitchers holding down the Cubbies a second time.
MVP favorite Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman went a combined 0-for-15 for Chicago.
The Padres then traveled to Milwaukee to face the Brewers.
–And in the only series to go three, Atlanta won Game One 5-3, as Philadelphia manager Don Mattingly strangely brought in closer Jhoan Duran in the seventh (Duran hadn’t pitched in the seventh all year) and then left him in for the eighth, whereupon the Braves’ Austin Riley, coming off the worst season of his career, hit a game-deciding 3-run homer off Jhoan.
On one hand I kind of get what Mattingly was doing…the postseason is different. But closers very seldom do well when being thrown into a strange situation. This one backfired bigly.
In the second game in Atlanta, the Phillies got home runs from Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, back-to-back in the 8th, and then the game-winning homer from Alec Bohm in the 10th for a 4-3 win, setting up Game 3.
And Atlanta took it 6-2, riding a 3-run, first-inning homer from Michael Harris II off Phillies starter Aaron Nola, with additional homers from Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies, while Chris Sale came in for the final four outs, fanning three. Braves fans showed up and were terrific.
Atlanta moved on to face the Dodgers in L.A.
ALDS….
–Prior to Saturday’s game, the Yankees announced Aaron Judge was still not as healthy as they’d like (he needs to be able to play the field) and he was left off the Division Series roster while he continues to rehab his calf injury.
The Yanks were then one-hit by Drew Rasmussen over eight innings (10 strikeouts, 101 pitches) in a postseason masterpiece that will be long remembered.
Rasmussen was throwing a no-hitter until two outs in the eighth when the Yanks’ Austin Wells slashed a double down the right-field line, but stupidly tried to turn it into a triple and was easily thrown out. Game over…with Bryan Baker closing it out for the Rays, 1-0.
Gerrit Cole threw five innings for New York, yielding the lone run on a homer by Jonathan Aranda in the third.
The two teams square off again on Monday.
–The White Sox kept the magic going, 3-0 over the Guardians in Cleveland, Munetaka Murakami blasting a 2-run homer in the fourth that was all Chicago needed, as five White Sox pitchers spun the shutout, including a masterful 4-inning save from Grant Taylor.
Game 2 Monday.
NLDS….
–Los Angeles Times sportswriter Houston Mitchell pointed out that the Dodgers have never won a World Series when they won 100 games in the regular season, and you can look it up…kind of amazing, Mitchell bemoaning the fact the Dodgers won Game 162 to hit that mark.
Eleven times the franchise won 100 games and is 0-10 when they do. [The 1899 Brooklyn Superbas went 101-47, but there was no postseason back then.]
Well, if there was any kind of jinx on this Dodgers team, they didn’t show it in Game 1 yesterday, 5-3 over the Braves in brutal heat.
The Dodgers slugged three home runs, including a 2-run bomb from $240 million man Kyle Tucker, who hardly lived up to the hype during a hugely disappointing regular season.
But that doesn’t matter now.
Tarik Skubal went six strong, one run, for L.A., quite a feat as the game-time temperature was 100 degrees.
–The Brewers beat the Padres in the final game, 3-2, on a William Contreras homer in the seventh that broke up a 2-2 tie.
Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski was hardly The Miz, 2 runs in just four innings, 6 strikeouts, 88 pitches, but five relievers combined to hold San Diego scoreless the rest of the way.
However, in the ninth, the Padres’ Ty France thought he hit a 2-run homer that would have put his team up 4-3, only it hit a roof cable and dropped down into the glove of the Brewers’ Jackson Chourio, an out per the ground rules.
It is unclear if the ball really would have been a homer, or would curve fall without the interference, but it was memorable…a bad memory for Padres fans.
—MLB released data on the Automated Bal-Strike System, ABS, and the robot umpires overturned 54% of challenged calls in the first season the system was used.
There were 10,557 challenges, an average of 4.35 per game, and 5,686 led to overturned decisions.
Catchers succeeded on 59% of their challenges, while batters had a 49% success rate and pitchers – who seldom challenged compared to catchers and batters – were at 40%.
I can’t imagine there is a baseball fan who doesn’t like ABS.
College Football Review
[Comments written prior to release of latest AP Poll.]
No. 1 Texas was idle, but some of us question whether the ranking is deserved. After next week’s rivalry game against Oklahoma, the Longhorns face Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri and LSU in succession, the last two on the road.
2 Georgia (5-0) beat Vanderbilt (3-2) 38-14, Gunner Stockton 25/32, 295, 3-0, at QB for the Bulldogs.
3 Notre Dame (5-0) had its hands full for the first 30 minutes+ at Chapel Hill but emerged the winner, 37-26 over the Tar Heels (2-2). There’s a reason why the Fighting Irish are not receiving any first-place votes in the AP poll.
4 Miami (5-0) beat Clemson (3-2) in Death Valley, 41-13.
5 Ohio State (4-1) passed its test at 14 Iowa (4-1), 31-14, as your Heisman Trophy favorite, Buckeye receiver Jeremiah Smith, struck the pose after another 200-yard receiving game, 11-206-2, quarterback Julian Sayin throwing for 324 yards and three touchdowns in all.
Smith became the first receiver in the FBS to have consecutive 200-yard games since 2020.
6 Indiana (5-0) had its way at Rutgers (1-4, lone win against Howard), 47-15, as running backs Turbo Richard (13-204-1) and Lee Beebe Jr. (18-122-1) combined for 326 yards, while quarterback Josh Hoover threw four touchdown passes, the Hoosiers outgaining the Scarlet Knights 593-254. Richard was supposed to be injured!
7 Alabama (5-0) whipped 16 Mississippi State (4-1) 56-23, the Bulldogs with four turnovers.
8 Florida (4-1) got its comeuppance after its big win against Ole Miss last week, falling at 25 Missouri (4-1) 45-17, the Tigers’ Jamal Roberts rushing for 201 yards on 24 carries with three touchdowns, while Austin Simmons threw for 340 yards and two scores.
Florida has lost four of its last five at Missouri.
9 Ole Miss was idle.
And 10 BYU (4-0) had an unimpressive 17-10 win at TCU (2-3), with just 216 yards of offense for the game.
The Cougars did suffer a big blow, when star running back LJ Martin went out early with a leg injury.
In other games of note….
12 Texas Tech stayed undefeated (5-0) in defeating Colorado (2-3) in Boulder, 29-7.
21 SMU (4-1) survived a tough test from Boston College (2-3) at home, 25-16, BC with a big fumble late (and 11 penalties for 95 yards), the Eagles outgaining the Mustangs 322-218.
The big question in Los Angeles is can Lincoln Riley survive at 18 USC, and this is despite his $70 million buyout, which can only protect him to a certain point, but they beat Washington (3-2) 25-21 to move to 5-1.
Friday night, Pitt (5-0) won an exciting game at Virginia Tech (4-1) 35-33, as John Love’s 36-yard field goal attempt for the Hokies as time expired was ruled just barely wide left when the Hokies and their fans all thought the kick was good.
VT’s Ethan Grunkmeyer threw for 434 yards, but he also committed three turnovers (Tech with four TOs in all). So no miracle finish for new coach James Franklin.
[Pitt lost starting QB Mason Heintschel to a season-ending knee injury at the start of the second half.]
Also Friday, Northwestern (3-1) unveiled their new stadium, designed like a Premier League facility to amplify the sound, and the Wildcats ran all over Penn State (3-2), 34-13; Northwestern with 413 yards rushing, led by Caleb Komolafe’s 188 on 25 carries, and Joseph Himon’s 10-112-2.
There are going to be lots of empty seats at Unhappy Valley the rest of this season for the Nittany Lions.
But back to Saturday, my Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-1) are knocking on the door of the Top 25, pollsters no doubt impressed by a 57-3 demolition of Stanford (2-3) in Winston-Salem.
The Deacs’ Gio Lopez, who is playing as well as any quarterback in America, threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 88 yards and three more scores.
Twelve Wake receivers had at least one catch.
It was the biggest margin of victory in an ACC game in school history, while Stanford suffered its 2nd-worst loss ever.
I told you last week, Wake coach Jake Dickert is going to be a hot commodity this offseason, and even more so after this performance.
But the Deacs will have a stern test next week in Raleigh when they take on North Carolina State (3-2), who had a fine 31-28 win over Louisville (2-3), quarterback CJ Bailey with a career-high 373 yards and two touchdowns, partially atoning for his all-time bonehead play that cost the Wolfpack a win at Vanderbilt.
–Lastly, in FCS play, Lehigh (6-0) beat Fordham (1-5) 34-0, which I mention because the Mountain Hawks were again led by running back Luke Yoder, 20-171-1.
I love the Yoder story because he has been at Lehigh all four years, and these days that’s special. Here’s hoping he leads his team to a championship, Lehigh No. 6 going into the weekend.
—And now…your new AP Poll!
1 Texas 4-0 (61)
2 Georgia 5-0 (6)
3 Notre Dame 5-0…still no first-place votes, so like why are they 3rd?
4 Miami (FL) 5-0 (2)
5 Ohio State 4-1
6 Alabama 5-0
7 Indiana 5-0 (1)
8 BYU 4-0…I question this placement….
9 Ole Miss 3-1
10 LSU 4-1
11 Texas Tech 5-0
12 Utah 4-0
13 Oregon 3-1
14 Missouri 4-1…up 11!
15 Tennessee 4-1
16 Florida 4-1…down 8
17 Mississippi State 4-1…down just one? C’mon….
18 Oklahoma State 3-1
19 USC 5-1
20 Iowa 4-1
21 UCLA 4-0
22 Houston 4-1
23 Boise State 4-1
24 SMU 4-1
25 Pitt 5-0…my parents are upstairs celebrating….
And if you carry out the votes, Kentuck is 26, and Wake Forest 27! Duke 29.
Next week there is a biggie…2 Georgia at 6 Alabama.
We also have 13 Oregon hosting 21 UCLA, and 17 Mississippi State at 10 LSU.
For Wake fans, all about our next road game at North Carolina State.
NFL
–Once again, the networks put the Jets and Giants both on at 1:00, which sucks for us area fans. There was a time, not that long ago, when regardless of whether they were good or bad, the games were always at 1:00 and 4:00, because, you know, it’s only the biggest freakin’ media market, NFL!
So, we’re left to flip back and forth…and the Cardinals at the Giants was an interesting contest. Back and forth. Back and forth, the Giants taking a 27-24 lead late third quarter as Jameis Winston, still at the helm after the season-ending injury to Jaxson Dart, was up and down, three touchdown passes, two interceptions, some passes with no zip whatsoever, others right on target.
Jameis is a thrill ride, no doubt. How would the game end?
Rather excitingly…the Cards, down 30-24, had first-and-goal to win it…the Giants’ defense stiffened, and on fourth-and-goal at the 4-yard-line, Deonte Banks picked it off and went 98 yards for the walk-off…36-24…the Giants 3-1, Cards 1-3. Great win for John Harbaugh and Co.
–As for the Jets at the Bears, let’s just say coach Aaron Glenn should be fired. He’s in charge, and he clearly isn’t motivating much of the team.
In this case, the Jets offensive line was supposed to be their big strength and they have royally sucked.
Jets fall 23-12, gaining just 157 yards of offense! That’s like Howard vs. Rutgers.
The Bears, behind Tyson Bagent who threw for 268 yards, rushed for 232…former Rutgers back Kyle Monangai with 146 and two touchdowns on 30 carries.
The Jets are 1-3…heading to another season of extreme misery, while the Bears are 3-1, doing just fine without Caleb Williams. That’s called coaching.
–The Jaguars (3-1) held on to beat the Bengals (2-2) 22-17, Jags fan Steve G. partying all night no doubt. Joe Burrow had two interceptions, though he threw for 428 yards, while Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence was flawless, 18/23, 227, 1-0, 122.3.
–The Patriots (2-2) upset the Bills (3-1) in Buffalo, 29-26, as Drake Maye broke out of his slump to throw three touchdown passes, while the New England defense held Josh Allen in check.
–The Rams (2-2) may have saved their season, coming from behind in Philadelphia to defeat the Eagles (2-2), 24-20.
Matthew Stafford needed 51 passing attempts to throw for 316 yards (not good), plus he threw another two interceptions, giving him six on the year, but L.A. pulled it out, outgaining the Eagles 414-172.
Saquon Barkley left the game early with a hamstring injury. No telling how long he’ll be out.
–And the Cowboys (2-2) sent the Texans reeling to a 0-4 start, Dallas with a last-minute drive to pull it out, 34-30, on a Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb touchdown from 12 yards out with 0:40 to play.
Lamb had a monster game, 17 receptions for 189 yards and that score.
—Thursday night, the surprising Browns moved to 3-1 with a 27-24 win over the Steelers (2-2), as Deshaun Watson continued to be good enough, while Aaron Rodgers is just old…three touchdowns but two interceptions.
—Tony Romo and CBS Sports parted ways, the network said in a statement Friday. The announcement comes just over two months after Romo was arrested on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) in Milwaukee.
Romo was placed on indefinite leave, and his place on CBS’ No. 1 NFL broadcast team was taken by J.J. Watt. That arrangement will remain in place, CBS Sports said.
Romo, 46, had four years and $72 million remaining on the 10-year, $180 million contract he signed with CBS in 2020. The two sides reached a financial settlement, according to industry sources, so Romo will be paid a good portion of the remaining money he was owed.
Romo, in his own statement, said: “I am grateful for my time with CBS Sports and for the continued support of my family and friends, as well as the NFL community and fans.”
PGA Tour
–The Fall Season moves along, this week the Bank of Utah Championship, Black Desert Resort, Ivins, UT, with the main dual incentives…stay inside (or get into) the Top 100 to secure a full 2027 Tour card, and try to get into the Top 60 to earn a spot in the field for the first two Signature Events of 2027, the Top 50 having already qualified for the entire Signature Event season.
Jackson Koivun, for example, keeps playing because he wants the Top 60. He started the week at 62 and was 64 after making the cut, but way back of the leader Austin Smotherman, who is -17 on a non-exciting leaderboard.
Defending champion, and Wake Forest alum, Michael Brennan, is T7 at -12.
Billy Horschel entered the week at No. 101. Tony Finau No. 100, but he missed the cut.
Entering the final round….
Smotherman -23
Doug Ghin -22
Koivun was down to T61, falling from 62 to 65 in the points standings, while Horschel, T26, had picked up just one slot to No. 100.
But lots of tournaments left for both of them, and Finau, who has dropped to 104, at least.
–There was a big development overseas this week, as Tom Kim needed to win the gold medal at the Asian Games in Japan to avoid mandatory military service in his native South Korea.
Kim then won it by three shots, and admitted afterwards, “This day was the longest day I think I’ve ever had in my life.”
Military service (18-24 months) can have a devastating impact on a golfer’s career, which is why Kim, and others, have done all they can to avoid it, the government providing some loopholes.
Sangmoon Bae’s game has never been the same after his time in the South Korean Army, for example.
But now it’s clear sailing for Kim, 24. 2027 could be a big season for him with the pressure off.
Premier League
–No play a second week due to UEFA’s Nations League action, many of the Premier League players obviously on their national squads. New German coach Juergen Klopp picked up his first win this week over Serbia, after drawing with the Netherlands and losing to Greece.
But conversation in the league is all about Manchester City and the severe penalties, still unannounced, they are facing from what is being called by some the greatest scandal in team sports history. We found out more specifics this week, and City artificially inflated revenue and lowered their expenses by more than $1.19 billion from 2009 to 2018.
United States manager Mauricio Pochettino, who coached extensively in the Premier League during the time City was committing its massive financial fraud, allowing it, among things, to dominate the transfer portal (picking up players like Erling Haaland), said this week it was “very difficult to know what punishment City should receive – but the crime severely damaged the competition.”
Pochettino said: “We have lived through a period where sporting justice did not exist.”
Pochettino, for example, led the Tottenham Spurs to second- and third-place finishes during this time. The year they finished second, winner Chelsea was also later found to have breached the league’s financial regulations.
However, City is already appealing, before the penalties are announced. Again, this will go on for years.
Stuff
—The NHL season is underway and Rangers fans already have reason to celebrate. Thursday night, in our 5-1 win over the Lightning, goalie Igor Shesterkin scored a goal…shockingly, the first Ranger goaltender to do so in franchise history! The Garden crowd went nuts.
With the Lightning having pulled their goaltender, the puck bounced off the boards and went right to Igor’s stick, allowing him to flip it down the ice toward the empty net.
Growing up, we had the great Eddie Giacomin in goal and he was a fabulous stick handler and more than a few times I remember late in games hoping he’d have a shot, and he barely missed each time.
Shesterkin was the 18th goalie in NHL history to accomplish the feat, with the Flyers’ Ron Hextall having done it twice and the Devils’ Martin Brodeur three times.
Then Friday night, the Rangers playing their third game in four nights, rookie netminder Dylan Garand, cut by the Rangers just the week before and then called up to replace the injured backup to Shesterkin, pitched a shutout, 2-0 over the Red Wings in Detroit. Very cool.
–And we had this incredible story from last weekend’s Berlin Marathon. Winner Tigst Assefa “completely destroyed” her right Achilles tendon trying to regain her world record.
Assefa was well on course to beat Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record with 2 kilometers remaining (1.2 miles) last Sunday when she suddenly began limping with what appeared to be cramps. She grimaced and kept running in visible pain before ultimately finishing 68 seconds behind Chepng’etich’s mark of 2:09:56 from Chicago in 2024.
As the Associated Press reported, it transpired Assefa suffered a “complete rupture of the right Achilles tendon,” her representative Gianni Demadonna told the AP on Tuesday.
Demadonna said the Ethiopian runner had been in pain from the 31 km (19-mile) mark but decided to continue running before the injury struck at the 40K mark.
“She was no longer able to run, because when she was going to put her foot on the ground she had no power,” Demadonna said. “She completely destroyed the tendon at the end, because running without the tendon – I mean the last 500 meters maybe she ran without the tendon, you know, only with the heel, so that was a disaster because maybe (if) she had stopped, (it) was not so bad, but she ran 2 kilometers with the problem.”
Chepng’etich was banned for thee years in 2025 after admitting a doping violation. But the Kenyan’s record still stands.
Assefa collapsed after crossing the line and was attended to by a medic as well as compatriot and marathon great Haile Gebrselassie, among others. She was flown to Munich to undergo what Demadonna called “very complex surgery” on her ankle.
He did think she could start running again in just three months, which would be rather remarkable.
Top 3 songs for the week of 10/7/72: #1 “Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me” (Mac Davis…a total ‘entertainer’, in the old-time fashion of the term…) #2 “Ben” (Michael Jackson) #3 “Back Stabbers” (O’Jays)…and…#4 “Everybody Plays The Fool” (The Main Ingredient) #5 “Go All The Way” (Raspberries…love the tune, but your date might not like you putting it on for her…) #6 “Use Me” (Bill Withers) #7 “Burning Love” (Elvis Presley) #8 “Black & White” (Three Dog Night) #9 “My Ding-A-Ling” (Chuck Berry) #10 “Popcorn” (Hot Butter…dreadful…otherwise solid week marred by #s 9 and 10…B-….)
World Series MVP Quiz Answers: 1) Only four multiple MVP winners….
Sandy Koufax, Dodgers (1963, 1965); Bob Gibson, Cardinals (1964, 1967); Reggie Jackson (1973 Oakland, 1977 Yankees); Corey Seager (2020 Dodgers, 2023 Rangers).
2) Only two to be both regular season MVP and then be World Series MVP….
Sandy Koufax (MLB MVP, Cy Young, and World Series MVP in 1963); Willie Stargell (MLB MVP, LCS MVP, and World Series MVP in 1979).
Have a season, Willie! That’s why he’s an All-Timer in the Steel City.
As for Koufax, whenever life has you down, and nothing seems to be going right, do one of two things. Watch Secretariat’s stretch run at the Belmont Stakes to wrap up the Triple Crown, or stare at Koufax’s last five seasons of his career…as good as there has ever been in all of sports.
[OK, Wayne Gretzky, 1979-87, is pretty good, too.]
Brief Add-on up top Tues. AM….
