Welcome Back
September sports are in the house! A scintillating sports weekend left little to be desired. College football was a three-day rollercoaster (Colorado → Florida State → Duke).
Top seeds are tumbling out of the U.S. Open. Team Euro made their Ryder Cup picks. The U.S. is no longer perfect at the FIBA World Cup. And MLB wild card races highlight a seemingly endless barrage of sports to start September. Most importantly, it’s Week 1 of the NFL season. Let’s kick it off with everybody’s favorite game…
Letter Rip!
CFB
Prime Time: Belief in Boulder
Deion Sanders & His Band of Buffs Deliver Shock Upset in Week 1
Do you believe now?! Plenty of storylines and amazing highlights filled the airwaves after Week 1 of the college football season, but one story was the talk of the nation. Deion Sanders and Colorado — coming of a 1-11 season and the biggest roster overhaul in college football history — went into Fort Worth and handed #17 TCU a stunning upset (45-42). The Buffs entered the season with the lowest projected win total in the Big 12 (3.5 games), while TCU was the CFB National Championship runner-ups just eight months ago. Sanders hasn’t stopped making headlines since he left Jackson State for Colorado last offseason, and his band of Buffs just took college football by storm. Sparked by Sanders’ two sons — Shedeur (QB) and Shilo (CB) — as well as two-way superstar WR/CB Travis Hunter and RB Dylan Edwards, Colorado rung up 45 on the road against one of the conference’s best teams. And they looked good doing it. Shedeur broke the school record for passing yards (510) while Travis Hunter looks like Deion reincarnated at cornerback.
After the game, Coach Prime walked his swaggy (but deserving) attitude into the press conference where he reminded reporters that he kept receipts on disbelief in his program and coaching style. “Do you believe now?! You still don’t believe…”
Deion and the boys from Boulder will have more chances to captivate the non-believers in the months ahead — Nebraska, #15 Oregon, #6 USC, Stanford, #18 Oregon State and #14 Utah are waiting. We’ll be watching. But for now? This new brand of Buffs is simply unbelievable.
Colorado Stat Stuffers
QB Shedeur Sanders: 38/47, 510 yards, 4 TDs
RB Dylan Edwards: 11 touches, 180 yards, 4 TDs
WR/CB Travis Hunter: 11 catches, 119 yards, 1 INT
WR Jimmy Horn Jr.: 11 catches, 117 yards, 1 TD
CB Shilo Sanders: 9 tackles
Watch: Colorado Shocks #17 TCU (45-42) on the Road to Open Deion Sanders Era
College Football Highlights
Top-15 Scoreboard
#1 Georgia def. UT Martin (48-7)
#2 Michigan def. East Carolina (30-3)
#3 Ohio State def. Indiana (23-3)
#4 Alabama def. Middle Tennessee (56-7)
#8 Florida State def. #5 LSU (45-24)
#7 Penn State def. West Virginia (38-15)
#10 Washington def. Boise State (56-19)
#12 Tennessee def. Virginia (49-13)
#13 Notre Dame def. Tennessee State (56-3)
#15 Oregon def. Portland State (81-7)
= Upset Alert
Heisman Watch (Notable Stats)
QB M. Penix Jr. (WASH): 29/40, 450 yards, 5 TDs
QB C. Williams (USC): 18/24, 319 yards, 5 TDs
QB J. Travis (FSU): 23/31, 342 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT
QB B. Nix (ORE): 23/27, 287 yards, 3 TDs
QB Q. Ewers (TEX): 19/30, 260 yards, 3 TDs
Read More
AP: Prime Shocker: Colorado Stuns No. 17 TCU in Deion Sanders’ Debut
ESPN: Colorado Attracts Huge Betting Interest, Dramatic Heisman Odds Movement
CBS Sports: Deion Sanders Made Believers Out of Many, But It’s a Long Season
B/R: Colorado’s Deion Sanders After TCU Upset: ‘We Told You We Coming… We Keep Receipts’
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TENNIS
Top Women’s Seeds Fall
With #1 Iga Swiatek, #3 Jessica Pegula & #5 Ons Jabeur Out, The Path is Open for #6 Coco Gauff’s First Slam
Down they go! The first weekend of the U.S. Open is a wrap, and while a number of the top seeds are still standing in the men’s draw, the women’s bracket is anybody’s guess. After #6 Coco Gauff took down Caroline Wozniacki in a star-studded showdown, No. 1 Iga Swiatek fell to #20 Jelena Ostapenko and #3 Jessica Pegula was swept by #17 Madison Keys. The door is opening for Gauff as she picks up steam entering today’s quarterfinals. Meanwhile, #1 Carlos Alcaraz and #2 Novak Djokovic are still swinging after the Djoker rallied from two sets down on Friday in an absolute display of survival against #32 Laslo Djere. It’s Week 2 in New York! We’ll keep ‘em coming.
Round of 16 Highlights
Women’s Singles
#20 J. Ostapenko def. #1 I. Swiatek (3-6, 6-3, 6-1)
#2 A. Sabalenka def. #13 D. Kasatkina (6-1, 6-3)
#17 M. Keys def. #3 J. Pegula (6-1, 6-3)
#23 Q. Zheng def. #5 O. Jabeur (6-2, 6-4)
#6 C. Gauff def. C. Wozniacki (6-3, 3-6, 6-1)
#9 M. Vondrousova def. P. Stearns (6-7, 6-3, 6-2)
#10 K. Muchova def. X. Wang (6-3, 5-7, 6-1)
Men’s Singles
#1 C. Alcaraz def. M. Arnaldi (6-3, 6-3, 6-4)
#2 N. Djokovic def. B. Gojo (6-2, 7-5, 6-4)
#3 D. Medvedev def. #13 A. de. Minaur (2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2)
#12 A. Zverev def. #6 J. Sinner (6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3)
#8 A. Rublev def. J. Draper (6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4)
#9 T. Fritz def. D. Stricker (7-6, 6-4, 6-4)
#10 F. Tiafoe def. R. Hijikata (6-4, 6-1, 6-4)
Today’s Schedule (Quarterfinals)
M: #2 N. Djokovic vs. #9 T. Fritz (1:15 pm ET)
M: #10 F. Tiafoe vs. B. Shelton (8:15 pm ET)
W: #6 C. Gauff vs. #20 J. Ostapenko (Noon ET)
W: #10 K. Muchova vs. #30 S. Cirstea (7:00 pm ET)
Read More
SI: Top-Seeded Defending U.S. Open Champ Iga Swiatek Dealt Stunning Upset in Round of 16
Sky Sports: ‘One of the Toughest Matches I’ve Played Here’ — Djokovic Relieved After Surviving Laslo Djere
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GOLF
Europe’s Ryder Cup Picks
Team Europe Captain Luke Donald Makes His 6 Selections to Finalize Ryder Cup Rosters
The Ryder Cup rosters are set! Luke Donald made his remaining six captain’s picks for Team Europe’s squad on Monday following the final two automatic qualifiers — Robert MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton. They joined the foursome of McIlroy, Rahm, Hovland, and Fitzpatrick, all top-10 in World Golf Rankings (WGR). The six picks by Donald featured four experienced candidates choices, but two rookie surprises will make their first Ryder Cup appearances in 2023. Team Europe hasn’t lost on home soil in 30 years. Here’s the team:
Rookie Surprise Picks: Ludvig Aberg & Nicolai Hojgaard
Team Europe (WGR)
Rory McIlroy (2nd)
Jon Rahm (3rd)
Viktor Hovland (4th)
Matt Fitzpatrick (8th)
Tyrrell Hatton (13th)
Tommy Fleetwood (14th)
Sepp Straka (23rd)
Justin Rose (34th)
Shane Lowry (37th)
Robert MacIntyre (55th)
Nicolai Hojgaard (78th)
Ludvig Aberg (90th)
Team USA
S. Scheffler, X. Schauffele, P. Cantlay, R. Fowler, B. Koepka, W. Clark, B. Harman, J. Spieth, J. Thomas, S. Burns, C. Morikawa, M. Homa
Ryder Cup: Sept. 29 — Oct. 1
Marco Simone Golf Club (Rome, Italy)
Read More
Golfweek: Who Got Snubbed in the Team Europe Ryder Cup Selections?
Golf Digest: Luke Donald Rounds Out European Ryder Cup Team With Notable Veterans & Some (Very) New Blood
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FIBA
Down, But Not Out
Lithuania Upsets Team USA at FIBA World Cup (110-104); Spain Crashes Out as Field Trimmed to Final 8
Team USA’s perfect run at the 2023 FIBA World Cup came to an end on Sunday morning, but it’s not over for the stars and stripes. The U.S. squeaked by Montenegro on Friday (85-73) in a nerve-racking affair. Come Sunday, their 4-0 start hit its first snag. Lithuania jumped on Team USA with a 31-12 blowout first quarter. Steve Kerr’s squad fought back to make it a game in the second half, but Lithuania got the best of Team USA (110-104). Anthony Edwards’s 35-point performance wasn’t enough to take down an opponent with just three NBA players on the roster. They’re still moving on to the quarterfinals, but they weren’t the only top team who got caught sleeping on an Eastern European squad…
Spain Sent Packing: Spain was the other dominant favorite who fell in the second round, losing to Latvia (74-69) in a stunner before getting knocked out by Canada (88-85).
Eight teams remain. Both the USA and Canada are still alive with one loss on the resume, and six European squads look amped to target the North American powerhouses. Next up? It’s USA vs. Italy this morning.
FIBA World Cup Bracket (Quarterfinals)
Lithuania vs. Serbia (Tues. 4:45 am ET)
USA vs. Italy (Tues. 8:40 am ET)
Germany vs. Latvia (Wed. 4:45 am ET)
Canada vs. Slovenia (Wed. 8:30 am ET)
Semifinals: Friday, Sept. 8
Finals: Sunday, Sept. 10
Read More
WaPo: What’s Next for USA Basketball After Wake-Up Call Against Lithuania?
ESPN: Takeaways From Team USA’s 1st World Cup Loss to Lithuania
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HIGHLIGHTS
MLB
Altuve Has 4-Hit, 2-HR Game as Astros Break Tie With Rangers (13-6)
Cubs’ Ace Justin Steele Fires 2-Hit, 8-Inning Shutout Against Giants (5-0)
Twins Explode for 20 Runs Against Division-Rival Guardians (20-6)
*Royce Lewis Hits 3rd Grand Slam in 8 Games
Soccer
EPL: Arsenal Thwart Man-U With 2 Stoppage-Time Goals (3-1)
MLS: Messi Delivers 2 Assists as Inter Miami Top LAFC (3-1)
Racing
F1: Verstappen Wins Italian GP to Become 1st Driver With 10 Straight Wins
NASCAR: Kyle Larson Victorious at Southern 500 in Playoff Opener
WNBA
Collier’s 27 Helps Lynx Clinch Playoff Spot
Liberty Win 6th Straight Without Injured Ionescu
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NEWS
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