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Good morning! Don’t let a little stumble keep you out of the end zone today.
While You Were Sleeping: Dodgers, Jags escape on a great sports night
I need to remember nights like last night when things get slow. We had three late games, all of them bangers, back-to-back-to-back. Let’s go in chronological order:
In the NLDS, the Phillies lost another narrow game to the Dodgers in the early evening as a ninth-inning comeback attempt fell short. Los Angeles heads home with a 2-0 lead in this best-of-five series. Tough.
On “Monday Night Football,” the Jaguars pulled off a stunning comeback win over the visiting Chiefs to cement Jacksonville (4-1) as the NFL’s early vibes winner. Trevor Lawrence led a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minute and change, running in the last score himself after falling down in the pocket. It was a wild game. Just watch the highlights:
Lastly, the Brewers are a wagon. Their 7-3 win over the Cubs in Game 2 of the other NLDS matchup was powered solely by three monster home runs. With apologies to Chicago, I think we all want to fast forward to the end of this series.
The looming Brewers-Dodgers matchup would be exquisite. Let’s move on to colder things:
Beginnings: Puck drop in 3, 2 …
Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; Top photos: Michael Reaves/Getty Images, Carmen Mandato/Getty Images, Bob Frid/Imagn Images
All the above events are signs of a busy, busy sports calendar. Baseball seasons are on the brink of ending after the sport’s long year. NFL games are important every week. The WNBA Finals are ongoing. And tonight we get a new bombshell: the NHL.
A sixth-month hockey journey begins in just a few hours. I would wax poetic here about the importance of all this, but we had a massive news story yesterday:
Connor McDavid ended any speculation about his immediate future by agreeing to a shocking two-year, $25 million extension, ensuring he’ll be in Edmonton for the next three years. It’s not only a massive underpay for the best hockey player on Earth, but also a direct application of pressure on the Oilers front office to win now, thanks to unexpected financial flexibility. We have a full explanation about why the 28-year-old took such a deal, too.
It’s actually a nice segue. The Oilers, losers of two consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, enter the year as a title favorite. The Panthers, back-to-back champs, deserve consideration, too, but there’s room for worry. Let’s spend our time talking about everyone else, with the help of some experts.
Hello, Sean Gentille. Pick one team not named Edmonton or Florida to win the Stanley Cup, and tell us why in one sentence.
“I’m a simple man who appreciates a roster free of alarm-triggering weaknesses, and the Dallas Stars have legit award contenders at every position.”
Sounds good to me. Sean McIndoe, you predicted outcomes for every team this week. Which one did you agonize over the most?
“The Jets, who were left out of the True Contenders division even though they had the best record in the NHL last year. I’ll always root for the Jets, and especially for their fans, who had to suffer through losing a team. I just wish I could shake the feeling that everything went right for this team last year, and they still only won a round.”
Sean is a lead writer on our excellent Red Light newsletter, which you should definitely add to your inbox before the season begins. OK, last question:
Hi, Hailey Salvian. Who’s falling off this year?
“I’ll admit I was among the many people in Leafs land acting like losing Mitch Marner could be some kind of addition by subtraction. But after a chat with Jonas Siegel on ‘The Athletic Hockey Show’ last week, I’m feeling much more pessimistic about Toronto. Now, I see a roster that just lost a 100-point player and didn’t come close to replacing him.”
Speaking of the podcast: Hailey, the Seans and a stacked roster of The Athletic’s other hockey writers will be pumping out quality stuff this season on “The Athletic Hockey Show,” which recently relaunched with a snazzy new look and episodes now streaming on YouTube. Watch here.
We have a full list of everything you need to know for the season’s start, too. Happy hockey day.
News to Know
Brooke Sutton / Getty Images
Sanchez charges worsen
Marion County (Ind.) prosecutors added a Level 5 felony battery against former NFL quarterback and current Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez yesterday, stemming from an altercation over the weekend that left Sanchez stabbed multiple times. The felony charge carries a possible sentence of one to six years in prison. Read the full update here.
More news
UEFA approved requests from La Liga and Serie A to play matches abroad, but expressed regret while doing so. Hm.
We have updated Heisman Trophy odds, and there’s a new favorite … again.
There was an entire firestorm over North Carolina’s social media channels and the coverage of Patriots QB Drake Maye, or lack thereof. Read the Bill Belichick-fueled tea here.
Wait, another Skycam issue happened this weekend? The Vikings believe a field goal attempt hit a wire in London. See more.
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What to Watch
📺 MLB: Mariners at Tigers
4:08 p.m. ET on FS1
It’s unfair this game is during “normal” business hours. If you can, find a way to turn on what we’ve called the best series of the playoffs thus far. Another solid pitching matchup (Logan Gilbert vs. Jack Flaherty), too.
📺 NHL: Penguins at Rangers
8 p.m. ET on ESPN
It’s almost tricky picking one game tonight. The puck drops for Blackhawks-Panthers at 5 p.m. ET, but Chicago might be the league’s worst team this year. Pittsburgh isn’t far above that projection, but this is the best time of night for most folks. Our best game belongs to the West Coast, which gets Avalanche-Kings at 10:30 p.m. ET. Happy hockey day.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Pulse Picks
Is Arch Manning college football’s first flop? Will Leitch explained how Manning’s rough start is legitimately unprecedented.
Manning’s Texas fell out of the AP Top 25 poll this week and is way, way down Chris Vannini’s latest Athletic 136 rankings, too.
Our collectibles staff rated the coolest sports cards of the year. Someone send me a couple hundred grand.
Told you the Drake Maye narratives were coming: Steve Buckley argues that Maye has liberated the Patriots from their past with that scintillating win over the Bills on Sunday.
Jake Ciely returns with Week 6 fantasy football waiver pickups. Click.
Have time for a rabbit hole today? Read our story on how Roger Federer started a speed conspiracy theory about Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: AP Top 25 rankings. Massive shakeup.
Most-read on the website yesterday: The Mark Sanchez update linked above.
Editor’s note: We are running yesterday’s Pulse Poll results tomorrow along with a larger section. Busy day!
(Top photo: Olivia Vanni / Getty Images)