BASKETBALL

The Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves will play two NBA preseason games in Abu Dhabi. The teams are on the ground now and will play on October 5th and 7th.

Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler certainly knows how to entertain during media day. Last year he sported dreadlocks, but this year he was more memorable with an emo look, featuring straightened hair, lip and eyebrow piercings, and black nail polish.

BASEBALL

The Minnesota Twins finally won a postseason game. With a 3-1 Game 1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Twins snapped an 18-game postseason losing streak (the longest in any major North American sports league). In the other American League opener, the Texas Rangers took Game 1 from the Tampa Bay Rays (Texas’s first postseason win since 2015).

In the National League, the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Milwaukee Brewers, while the Philadelphia Phillies grabbed a win over the Miami Marlins.

FOOTBALL

The most talked about NFL game of the weekend was the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets. The Chiefs beat the Jets 23-20, but the only thing anyone cared about was that Taylor Swift was in the house cheering on her boyfriend (or so we all want to believe) Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce. Swift made even more of a splash (not that she needed to) by bringing her friends Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and Hugh Jackman to the game.

In other NFL news, the Dallas Cowboys demolished the New England Patriots 38-3 (the largest loss in coach Bill Belichick’s career).

The Philadelphia Eagles are now 4-0 after barely beating the Washington Commanders 34-31 in overtime, while the Chicago Bears and the Carolina Panthers are still both winless.

The San Francisco 49ers are also undefeated thanks in part to a quarterback, Brock Purdy, who had a 95.2% completion rate, setting a new franchise record for best in a single game. Hall of Famer Steve Young previously held the record with a 90% completion rate from a game against the Detroit Lions in 1991. Speaking of Young, here’s a great story about his determination and grit during the early years of his career.

In the most lopsided game of the weekend, the Buffalo Bills destroyed the Miami Dolphins 48-20.

BASEBALL

The MLB postseason is underway. In the National League, the #1 Braves and #2 Dodgers have byes, while the Brewers play the Diamondbacks and the Phillies play the Marlins in the Wild Card round.

In the American League, the #1 Orioles and the #2 Astors have byes, while the Twins take on the Blue Jays and the Rays match up against the Rangers in the Wild Card round.

Click here for the full schedule.

FOOTBALL

The Detroit Lions cruised to an easy win over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football. Running back David Montgomery grabbed 121 yards and three touchdowns, joining Hall of Famer Barry Sanders’ 1998 stats for yards/scores. Detroit 34, Packers 20

BASEBALL

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6 on Thursday night, but the big excitement was a fan trying to enter the game with an emotional support alligator. Yes, an alligator, and no he was not allowed to bring the animal into the game.

FOOTBALL

Now that Aaron Rodgers is out with a ruptured Achilles, Colin Kaepernick has written a letter offering to join the New York Jets as the team’s practice-squad quarterback. The controversial former San Francisco 49er has been out of the game for 7 years, but he still feels he can contribute saying, “I would be honored and extremely grateful for the opportunity to come in and lead the practice squad. I would do this with the sole mission of getting your defense ready each week.”

BASKETBALL

The Golden State Warriors are looking to bring in a WNBA franchise to the Bay Area. If the deal goes through, the franchise will be based in Oakland at the Warriors’ practice facility. Warriors owner Joe Lacob has been a supporter and vocal advocate for American women’s basketball.

The Portland Trail Blazers traded Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team deal. Lillard has played his entire 11-year career in Portland and is the team’s leading scorer.

NCAA

The NCAA may remove cannabinoids (the chemical substance from the cannabis plant) from the list of banned substances. The committee released a statement saying, “The recommendation aims to recenter student-athlete health while recognizing membership opinions and the shifting cultural and legal landscapes surrounding cannabinoids.”

FOOTBALL

While Deion Sanders Colorado Buffaloes made a splash at the beginning of the season, the team showed its weaknesses in a lopsided loss to Oregon over the weekend. Oregon 42, Buffalo 6

In the NFL, the Miami Dolphins set multiple records in their blowout win over the Denver Broncos. The Dolphins scored 70 points, the most by any NFL team in 57 years in the 70-20 demolition.

The Kansas City Chiefs easily dominated the Chicago Bears, but all anyone wanted to talk about was Taylor Swift cheering on her rumored new boyfriend tight end Travis Kelce. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes even said after the game, “I heard she was in the house. I felt a little bit of pressure, so I knew I had to get it to Trav. And of course, it’s a route that Travis, he does his own thing and just makes up a route and I throw it to him. I think he wanted to get in the end zone just as much as all the Swifties wanted him to.”

The Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, and the San Francisco 49ers are the only undefeated teams at this point in the season.

For a full wrap up of NFL games, click here.

BASEBALL

Shohei Ohtani tore his right elbow last month, ending his outstanding season as a pitcher and hitter. He’s expected back next season, but now the reports say he won’t be able to pitch for 2024. Ohtani’s agent put out the following statement, Ohtani “will be able to hit without any restrictions come opening day of 2024 and do both (Hit & Pitch) come 2025.”

FOOTBALL

The San Francisco 49ers easily beat the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football. Niners’ running back Christian McCaffrey recorded his 12th straight game with a touchdown, tying Hall of Famer Jerry Rice’s franchise record. 49ers 30, Giants 12

In other NFL news, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs tore his ACL in practice on Thursday and will be out for the season.

MISC

Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake are teaming up to open a bar/restaurant/entertainment destination in New York City. T-Squared Social will feature “elevated cuisine, craft cocktails, state of the art Full Swing simulators, duckpin bowling, darts” and lots of televisions. Tiger said the idea of T-Squared Social came about while he and Justin were playing golf at Albany in the Bahamas.

FOOTBALL

Tom Brady reminded Deion Sanders’s son Shadeur about the importance of “honing his craft” when Deion and Shadeur recently appeared on Brady’s podcast “Let’s Go!”.  Hall of Fame cornerback (and now the coach of Colorado) Deion asked Brady if a college kid needs a Rolls-Royce Cullinan (which his son wants). Brady said, “I think he needs to get his rich ass in the film room and spend as much time in there as possible,” Kidding aside, Brady has been a mentor and supporter of Shadeur for years.

SWIMMING/DIVING

Boston College announced it is indefinitely suspending its men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs due to hazing. The School did not mention any specifics about what has occurred in each program.

FOOTBALL

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns 26-22 on Monday Night Football. Unfortunately for the Browns, running back Nick Chubb suffered a brutal knee injury and will miss the rest of the season. The Browns are exploring their options for replacing Chubb. Former running back Kareem Hunt and former LA Ram Cam Akers are reportedly in contention.

Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is getting a new restructured contract that will put Mahomes on par with other elite players in his position. Mahomes will now get $210.6 million over the next four seasons, compared to the contract he signed in 2020 which is worth $450 million over 10 years. Mahomes will now be guaranteed an average yearly salary of $52.65 million through 2026 with an option for the Chiefs to restructure again after the 2026 season. The deal comes after the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow became the highest-paid player in the NFL with a five-year $219 million contract.

BASKETBALL

Thirty-seven-year-old Dwight Howard, an eight-time All-Star who hasn’t competed in the NBA in a couple of years, has expressed he’s in shape and ready to play. The Golden State Warriors have agreed to give him a look.

In College basketball news, fifteen Dartmouth men’s basketball players have announced they are looking into unionizing and have filed a petition with the National Relations Board. For more on this story, click here.

FOOTBALL

Former Stanford and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck retired from the NFL before the start of the 2023 season but is now lending his talents as a part-time coach with Palo Alto High School.

In college football, Deion Sanders continues to stay in the news. His #21 ranked Colorado beat rival Colorado State 43-35 (his son throwing for 348 yards and four touchdowns). But the big story was Colorado State coach (Jay Norvell) criticizing Sanders on his pre-game show for wearing sunglasses. He said, “When I talk to grown-ups, I take my hat and my glasses off.” Little did Norvell know that Sanders is repping a sunglass company and is planning to launch the new line this week. The company, Blenders, is thrilled with the response and has been getting bombarded with pre-sales.

In the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys have a combined 70-10 score after destroying the New York Giants (40-0) last week and handily beating the New York Jets (30-10) points this week. For more NFL news, click here.

FOOTBALL

After suffering an Achilles’ tear only five minutes into his quarterbacking debut with the New York Jets, Rodgers is officially out for the season. Citing an increase in injuries, the NFL Players Union has been urging the League for years to replace artificial turf fields with natural grass. Replacing the turf would cost an estimated $850,000 per field.

BASEBALL

The Atlanta Braves are NL East Champs and the first team to grab a playoff berth. It’s Atlanta’s sixth straight NL East title.