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Kansas City’s return to dominance, plus the Yankees’ disappearance act

Vaseline October 8, 2024

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Good morning! Get that interception out of the end zone today.

Reputations: One juggernaut retains its status

The stakes were high last night across multiple sports, with elite teams fighting for their professional survival; two, very literally, and one, figuratively. Let’s start with the winner first:

In the NFL, the Chiefs are 5-0 after a 26-13 win over the Saints looked like in the end the dynastic team we know. The two-time defending champions had navigated this year’s schedule with guile and luck, leaving many wondering whether they deserved the merit of an undefeated record. Losing rashee rice didn’t help either.

There was no doubt about this team last night. Don’t let the box score fool you: Kansas City, thanks to its defense, was in control of this game the entire game. Without one of the most impressive plays you’ll ever see from a defensive lineman, this would have been a blow:

Khalen Saunders with his first career INT that kept the Chiefs from scoring!

The Saints DT is a brother of Kameron Saunders, one of Taylor Swift’s backup dancers.

🎥 @NFL pic.twitter.com/bP3S8nuDqx

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) October 8, 2024

That’s New Orleans defensive tackle Khalen Saunders catching a tip-drill interception and absolutely recommended almost 35 meters in the other direction. Saunders is listed at 324 pounds and reached a top speed of almost 26 miles per hour on the run. Saunders is also a former Chief and his brother Kameron is a backup dancer for Taylor Swift, who was in the building last night. A small world, indeed.

Now, to the (literal!) losers:

Another Kansas City team, the Royals, entered Yankee Stadium and defeated the Bronx Bombers 4-2 to tie their ALDS matchup at 1-1. New York’s offense has been spectacular this season, but disappeared last night. Worrying.
In Cleveland, the AL Central champions became Guardians couldn’t muster a run against the ill-fated Tigersor Gritty Tigs, in a 3-0 loss that also tied this ALDS at one game apiece. Detroit has some juice.

Incredibly, all four MLB divisional series are tied at 1-1 for the first time in history. To proceed:

News to know

Housing construction is moving forward
The House vs. NCAA settlement, which would pave the way for a new revenue model in college sports, received preliminary approval from a judge yesterday, meaning the new model could be in effect next year. This comes after another judge last month raised issues with parts of the settlement and asked the parties involved to change the provisions. More details here.

Poch is already planning a departure?
In an interview, new USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino said he would be open to coaching the Argentina national team in the future “if the opportunity arises.” That’s understandable, considering Pochettino is from Argentina and the country currently has the best football team in the world. The timing is just…funny. Watch his full comments here.

Peppers arrested
Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers was arrested this weekend on charges of assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation and possession of a Class “B” substance believed to be cocaine. His alleged victim is a woman. Read our full report here.

More news

Debuts: Hello, Utah

The sports world is busy right now, which means that, on a larger scale, the start of the NHL season is upon us. And on tonight’s list is one of the more interesting hockey games of the past decade.

The Utah Hockey Club – nickname still pending – will play its first game of the NHL regular season tonight, becoming the 53rd team to ever do so. The road here to Utah was shocking. This morning Mark published Lazerus a great piece with all those details, but I want to highlight a few layers:

Remember, these are the former Arizona CoyotesWHO hurriedly left the desert this spring after a maddening stadium dispute roiled the league.
The transition to Utah was astonishingly quick: One day in mid-April, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman essentially asked new owner Ryan Smith if he was ready to bring hockey to Utah. Smith said yes, and later that same day he and his wife addressed their new “shell-shock” team.
Players were understandably skeptical. Their lives were uprooted, moving them from a desirable location in Phoenix to a place where no team has ever existed. But that changed quickly.
Smith spends money. Players say the facilities are better, even if the current arena is still being adapted for hockey. There will be nearly 5,000 seats in the Delta Center with obstructed views for hockey, but the owner wants to remove that thorn in the coming months.

This is what gets me: Utah should be good this year. Historically, we haven’t seen new franchises be competitive in the early years, but hockey has done well here, especially in Las Vegas and Seattle. And as Mark detailed, there is palpable hype in Utah. Players are hyped too.

The first-ever UHC puck drop takes place tonight against the Chicago Blackhawksone of the oldest franchises in the league, at 10pm ET on ESPN.

Until then, read Mark’s full storywhich contains incredible details about a most rushed – and impressive – six months.

Watch, listen and play

📺WNBA: Sun at Lynx
8:00 PM ET on ESPN
The winner advances to the WNBA Finals. Enough said.

📺 MLB: Dodgers at Padres
9pm ET on FS1
Both this and Phillies-Mets should be great today, but I’ll go with this one next an extremely tough Game 2. Imagine the Dodgers losing this one.

Stream games like this here and get tickets here.

🎧 The “Kick city” gang asks a pertinent question: What will it take for the Browns to bench Deshaun Watson? Listen here.

Try today’s Connections: Sports Edition beta. No mistakes for me.

Pulse choices

Jalen BrunsonMVP? I can support that. Read More bold NBA predictions for the season, here.

Mike Sando’s Pick Six column is a must-read every week, I thought his analysis of Buffalo‘s heavy loss – and the need for someone like Davante Adams – was enlightening.

College football Bubble watch is back this week with a look at how everything and nothing changed last weekend.

Two NHL games in one day? Broadcaster Ray Ferraro does it tonight. Richard Deitsch has the full scoop.

Game 2 of Phillies-Mets deserved more shine. Jayson Stark obliged and was put on the list the most memorable moments of one of the best games of this postseason.

Most clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our NFL Week 5 takeaways file.

Most read on the website yesterday: Jason Lloyd’s column on how the Browns can save their season by benching Deshaun Watson. Worth reading.

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(Top photo: Denny Medley / Imagn Images)

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Kansas City’s return to dominance, plus the Yankees’ disappearance act