Wild Card Hurricane Chaos

09/26/2024

By: Jeff Yoder

Good Morning!

Catch your breath before another jam-packed sports weekend. It’s an NFC East battle tonight for Thursday Night Football (Cowboys at Giants, 8:15 pm ET, PRIME) after a day of golf at the Presidents Cup. But first, last night’s sports news cycle got weird.

More sweeps in the WNBA Playoffs sent Caitlin Clark and Diana Taurasi packing. Another bizarre NIL saga hit college football. And MLB’s Wild Card race just got hit by a hurricane. It’s baseball’s big finish, and it’s pure chaos.

Letter Rip!

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MLB

Baseball’s Wild Card Hurricane Chaos

Four Wild Cards. Four Days. Seven Teams. One Big Hurricane-Impacted Doubleheader…

October is right around the corner. Like, actually. It’s here. The Wild Card Series begin next Tuesday (Oct. 1). There’s just one problem… We still don’t know who any of those Wild Card teams actually are. Four of six divisions have been claimed, and the other two feature head-to-head clashes among teams with playoff berths already secured. That’s eight (of 12) playoff teams locked. The other four? Get ready for baseball’s big, nasty, Hurricane-filled finish.

Who’s In? (8 Teams)

Before we take a swing at the weather-impacted games, let’s take a look at who’s already in. Both the Orioles and Padres still have an outsite chance to win their divisions, but it’s unlikely the Yankees and Dodgers surrender their leads. Technically we still don’t know who the Wild Card participants are, but these eight teams are playing in October.

AL East: Yankees (92-66)

AL Central: Guardians (92-67)

AL West: Astros (86-73)

WC1: Orioles (88-70)

NL East: Phillies (94-65)

NL Central: Brewers (90-68)

NL West: Dodgers (94-64)

WC1: Padres (91-67)

Wild Card Hurricane (4 Bids, 7 Teams)

Only seven teams are still eligible for the final four Wild Card bids — two spots each in the AL and NL — all separated by just 2.5 games. To make things even crazier, the Braves-Mets series was postponed to Monday (Sept. 30) due to Hurricane Helene. Atlanta and New York will likely play a “win-and-get-in” doubleheader finale on the eve of the playoffs, so mark your calendars for that. Bonus ball! For now, here’s how the Wild Card races look.

AL Wild Cards (Unclaimed)

WC2: Tigers (84-74) | —

WC3: Royals (84-74) | —

In the Hunt: Twins (82-76) | 2.0 Games Back

In the Hunt: Mariners (82-77) | 2.5 Games Back

NL Wild Cards (Unclaimed)

WC2: Mets (87-70) | —

WC3: Diamondbacks (88-71) | —

In the Hunt: Braves (86-71) | 1.0 Games Back

Weekend Series to Watch

It’s about to get messy, both the weather and the Wild Cards. In an AL-NL mix-and-match, the Braves-Royals series will have loads of implications baked into every game. In the AL, the Tigers and Mariners have favorable matchups against the White Sox and A’s, respectively. That’s tough news for the Twins (vs. Orioles). In the NL, the D-Backs have to play the Padres. The Mets get the Brewers, and the Crew could be resting starters with the Central title in hand. By Sunday night, we’ll know who’s in and who’s out, with the exception (likely) of the Braves-Mets doubleheader season finale.

Got all of that? Probably not. But that’s okay. Let’s watch the last four days of baseball with a must-win mindset. October is calling…

MLB Playoff Standings

(4 Days Left in Regular Season)

SI: Postponed Mets-Braves Games Throw NL Playoff Picture Into Chaos

USA Today: MLB Blows Up NL Playoff Race by Postponing Mets-Braves Series Due to Hurricane Helene

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WNBA PLAYOFFS

Sweeps & Farewells: The WNBA’s Final Four is Set

All 4 WNBA 1st-Round Series End in Sweeps — Lynx’s Napheesa Collier (42 pts) Eliminates Mercury (101-88), Sun End Fever & Caitlin Clark’s Season (87-81)

Four series, four sweeps. That’s how the first round of the WNBA Playoffs played out this week. There were no upsets, and the top four teams will play two more best-of-fives to find a champ. Last night could have been the end of a storied career for Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, too. Lynx star Napheesa Collier (42 points) tied a WNBA Playoff record to send Phoenix into the sunset. Collier had 38 in Game 1, too (80 points in two playoff games… wow). Taurasi got a standing ovation on the road after fouling out in the final minutes. If it was DT’s last game, she wraps up a 20-year career as one of the best to ever do it (announcement TBD).

In the early game, the Sun and Fever went shot-for-shot in a hotly-contested game full of fireworks. Newly-minted Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark (25-9-6) against DeWanna Bonner (15 pts, 8 rebs) was must-see TV. Aliyah Boston (16 pts, 19 rebs) and Alyssa Thomas (19 pts, 13 ast) also had great games, but it’s the end of a historic first season for Clark.

WNBA Playoff Highlights (Round 1)

G2: Sun def. Fever (87-81)

CONN Win Series (2-0)

G2: Lynx def. Mercury (101-88)

MIN Win Series (2-0)

WNBA Semifinals (Game 1s: Sunday)

#4 Aces at #1 Liberty (Sun. 3:00 pm ET)

#3 Sun at #2 Lynx (Sun. 8:30 pm ET)

ESPN: Historic Rookie Season Over, But Caitlin Clark Sees ‘What’s Possible’ With Fever

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Rebel With A Cause

UNLV Quarterback Matthew Sluka Leaves Team After 3-0 Start Over Failed $100K NIL Promise

There’s a new world order in college football. The next unprecedented NIL saga unfolding is unlike anything we’ve seen before. And we still don’t know exactly what happened. UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka left the team late Tuesday night over an NIL promise unfulfilled. Sluka is the first (reported) Division I athlete to walk out on his team midseason over undocumented NIL promises. UNLV running back Michael Allen joined him in the walkout less than 24 hours later. The Rebels are 3-0, but Sluka’s salty. Here’s why:

Rebel With A Cause

Sluka transferred to UNLV after four years at Holy Cross. He says the team promised him $100,000 in cash, but that agreement was never officially documented. Three games in, Sluka said UNLV hasn’t even helped him cover living expenses. The UNLV administration said the Rebels refused to be extorted by Sluka’s demands. This whirlwind is also taking place as UNLV faces uncertainty over conference realignments between the Mountain West and Pac-12.

Sluka amassed nearly 600 yards and 7 TDs in his three victories, and the Rebels scored 122 points (40.7 ppg). He plans to redshirt and transfer in December. The NIL era gets weirder and weirder.

CBS Sports: Matthew Sluka’s NIL Fallout Raises Questions About Agent’s Unregistered Status in Nevada

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HIGHLIGHTS

MLB

Ohtani Hits 2 HRs, Adds Another Steal (53/56)

Dodgers def. Padres (4-3), Lead NL West by 3.5

Jackson Jobe Throws Spotless 9th in MLB Debut

Tigers def. Rays (7-1) in Rookie’s Debut

KC Extends Defensive Streak to 26 Scoreless Innings

Royals def. Nationals (3-0)

Phillies Clinch 1st-Round Bye With Slugest, Brewers’ Loss

Phillies def. Cubs (9-6)

Full MLB Scoreboard

Soccer (US Open Cup Final)

LAFC Score 2 in Extra Time to Win U.S. Open Cup

Def. Sporting KC (3-1), Campos & Kamara Score in OT

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STORYLINES

Fantasy Football Trade Winds

With Week 4 about to begin, the fantasy football trade market is likely heating up in your league. Buy low on Tee Higgins? Sell high on Dallas Goedert? These are the must trade-for and trade-away targets ahead of Week 4. (Yahoo! Sports)

The $1 Million Pickleball Match

Tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf will look to defend their Pickleball Slam title against Andy Roddick and Eugenie Bouchard with a $1 million purse on the line this February in Las Vegas. (Bleacher Report)

Day 1 at the Presidents Cup

The 15th edition of the Presidents Cup begins Thursday at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Canada. It’s the U.S. vs. International with five fourball matchups to start the event. Get a better look at Royal Montreal. (NBC Sports)

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NEWS

Iconic Backyard Baseball ’97 Video Game Officially Returns (SI)

A’s Fans Caught Trying to Steal Seats From Oakland Coliseum (CBS Sports)

Shohei Ohtani’s 50/50 Home Run Ball Set to be Auctioned (ESPN)

U.S. Wrestler Alan Vera Dies at 33 After Suffering Cardiac Arrest During Soccer Game (USA Today)

Packers QB Jordan Love Has ‘Real Shot’ to Play in Week 4 Amid Injury Recovery (B/R)

Sun’s Alyssa Thomas Calls Out Caitlin Clark, Fever Fans for Racist Comments (Sporting News)

Pirates Release 1B Rowdy Tellez 4 Plate Appearances Short of $200K Contract Bonus (Yahoo! Sports)

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SCHEDULE

Tonight’s Must-Watch List