Yahoo Sports AM: 27 outs away
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🚨 HEADLINES
🏈 Raiders clean house: The Raiders have parted ways with head coach Josh McDaniels and GM David Ziegler following a 3-5 start. Linebackers coach Antonio Pierce is expected to be named the team's interim coach.
⚽️ Saudi Arabia 2034: Saudi Arabia is set to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup after Australia withdrew its interest following the Asian Football Confederation's decision to back the Saudi bid.
🏈 The plot thickens: Central Michigan is investigating photos that show a man resembling Connor Stalions, the suspended Michigan staffer suspected of attending opponents' games to steal their signs, on their sideline dressed in CMU gear.
🏈 Deadline day: DE Chase Young (Commanders to 49ers), QB Josh Dobbs (Cardinals to Vikings), DE Montez Sweat (Commanders to Bears) and WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (Browns to Lions) were among the players traded before Tuesday's deadline.
⚾️ ONE WIN FROM GLORY
The Rangers beat the Diamondbacks,11-7, on Tuesday, scoring more runs than they did in the first three games combined to take a 3-1 lead and pull within one win of their first title, Jeff and I write.
Game recap: Arizona scored six runs in the final two frames to make the final score respectable, but Texas' offense put this more or less out of reach from the jump, scoring five runs in the second and another five runs in the third.
The Rangers hit for the cycle in the second inning, with a single from Travis Jankowski, a double from Josh Jung, a triple from Marcus Semien and a homer from Corey Seager.
Crazy stat: Texas is now 10-0 on the road this postseason. Not only is that the longest road winning streak in MLB postseason history, it's also the longest road winning streak in Rangers franchise history, regular season or playoffs. Impeccable timing, gentlemen.
Mr. October 2.0: Seager, the 2020 World Series MVP, looks well on his way to winning more hardware if Texas closes this out.
His home run was his third of the series, making him the first shortstop to hit that many in a single Fall Classic. It was also the 19th of his playoff career, tied for the sixth-most ever.
Reggie Jackson earned the moniker Mr. October for his clutch hitting in the playoffs, blasting 18 homers with 48 RBI in 77 career postseason games. Well, Tuesday was Seager's 77th postseason game, and he now has 19 home runs and 48 RBI.
Arizona's tall task: The Diamondbacks will now try to become the seventh team in MLB history to overcome a 3-1 deficit and win the World Series. Game 5 is tonight in Phoenix, followed by Games 6 and 7 in Arlington.
📺 Brutal TV ratings… Game 1 was the least-watched World Series opener ever (9.17 million), and viewership has only gotten worse since. Saturday’s Game 2 (8.15 million) and Monday’s Game 3 (8.13 million) were also the least-watched on record, per Nielsen.
⚾️ IN PHOTOS: WORLD SERIES COMEBACKS
Six teams in MLB history have overcome a 3-1 deficit to win the World Series: The 1925 Pirates, 1958 Yankees, 1968 Tigers, 1979 Pirates, 1985 Royals and 2016 Cubs. Can the 2023 Diamondbacks join them?
1925:Pirates def. Washington Senators … The legendary Walter Johnson dominated Games 1 and 4, but Pittsburgh got the best of him in Game 7, winning 9-7 in "the wettest, weirdest and wildest game ever seen."
1958:Yankees def. Milwaukee Braves … This was the final World Series title for manager Casey Stengel, who won a record seven titles during his 12 years with the Yankees.
1968:Tigers def. Cardinals … Detroit came back from the brink behind the left arm of Mickey Lolich, who remains the last pitcher to earn three complete-game victories in a single World Series. He pitched a gem in Game 7 on two days' rest — a fitting end to "The Year of the Pitcher."
1979:Pirates def. Orioles … Jimmy Carter was in attendance for Game 7 at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, where he saw the Pirates win their fifth and most recent title. In fact, with the exception of the 2013 NL Wild Card Game, this is the last postseason series Pittsburgh has won.
1985:Royals def. Cardinals … Kansas City topped St. Louis in the "Show-Me Series," as it was dubbed at the time, since both cities are in Missouri (nicknamed the "Show-Me State").
2016:Cubs def. Indians … Chicago and Cleveland entered with the two longest World Series title droughts (combined 176 seasons), and the Cubs emerged victorious in one of the most epic postseason series of all time. Game 7 went to extras and was an instant classic.
🏈 OHIO STATE TOPS FIRST CFP RANKINGS
Ohio State took the No. 1 spot in the first College Football Playoff rankings, with four more unbeaten teams — Georgia, Michigan, Florida State and Washington — rounding out the top five.
The committee clearly values the Buckeyes' strength of schedule: They're the only unbeaten team with two wins against top-15 opponents (No. 11 Penn State and No. 15 Notre Dame).
Georgia, which has been ranked No. 1 in the AP poll for 20 consecutive weeks but finds itself No. 2 in this ranking, has beaten only two FBS teams with winning records.
The committee vs. the media: The CFP committee and AP voters have the same top 11 teams — just in a different order.
Georgia (AP) / Ohio State (CFP)
Michigan / Georgia
Ohio State / Michigan
FSU / FSU
Washington / Washington
Oregon / Oregon
Texas / Texas
Alabama / Alabama
Penn State / Oklahoma
Oklahoma / Ole Miss
Ole Miss / Penn State
Looking ahead: Georgia should leapfrog Ohio State with a win over No. 12 Missouri this weekend, the first of three straight ranked opponents for the Bulldogs (Ole Miss, Tennessee).
💵 THE COST OF ATTENDING AN NBA GAME
Fans attending tonight's Knicks game at Madison Square Garden should — unsurprisingly — be prepared to leave with a substantially lighter wallet, Jeff writes.
By the numbers: Four of the cheapest available Knicks tickets, plus a parking spot, two beers, two sodas and four hot dogs cost $745.18 on average this season, per analysis by Bookies.com.
That's nearly $140 more than the Warriors in second place ($608.39) and well over twice as much as the league average* ($304.64).
Four additional teams come in at more than $400: the Celtics ($536.69), Lakers ($506.05), Nets ($461.59) and Bulls ($412).
The most affordable games: There are eight teams whose games cost less than $200 for a family of four: the Hornets ($158.72), Pacers ($163.45), Jazz ($177.75), Thunder ($188.38), Pistons ($189.54), Rockets ($190.22), Trail Blazers ($191.52) and Pelicans ($195.78).
*Methodology: In order to avoid skewed data, three uniquely expensive categories of games were eliminated from the calculations: Christmas Day games, Lakers road games (the LeBron effect) and Damian Lillard's return to Portland with the Bucks in January.
🏈 RARE SIGHT: FAIR CATCH FREE KICK
Did you know that after making a fair catch in a football game, teams can opt for a free kick from the spot of the catch? Two high school teams successfully availed themselves of the quirky, little-known rule last week, Jeff writes.
On Thursday, Chaparral High (California) kicker Ezra Johnson nailed a free kick (think: a field goal with no oncoming defenders) with five seconds left for a 59-57, playoff-clinching victory.
On Friday, Central York (Pennsylvania) kicker Matthew Parker set a state record with a 54-yard free kick in a 37-0 win.
How it works: In both high school and the NFL (yes, seriously), teams can opt to take a free kick from the spot of a fair catch, and high school kickers are even allowed to use a tee. It rarely happens, though, as the circumstances must be perfect for such an attempt to even make sense.
For starters, most fair catches are fielded well out of kickers' range. Then there's the matter of timing: If it's not right at the end of the half or game, why give up an offensive possession for the chance at a quick three points?
Lastly is the score: If you're down by more than three points, regardless of how much time is left, you've got to go for the end zone. But sometimes, like last week in California and Pennsylvania, the stars align.
NFL free kicks: There's no official record of how many times it's happened in the NFL, but it appears to be fewer than 30, with just six successful attempts. The most recent attempt came in 2019, when Panthers kicker Joey Slye missed a 60-yarder wide right.
📆 NOV. 1, 1913: THE GAME THAT CHANGED COLLEGE FOOTBALL
110 years ago today, Notre Dame upset Army*, 35-13, at West Point in a game that changed football forever thanks to one simple concept: the forward pass, Jeff writes.
A new era: The forward pass was legalized seven years earlier in an effort to make the game safer, but it took time to catch on as an effective strategy. When QB Gus Dorais completed 14 passes for 243 yards and 2 TD — including a 40-yard score to the great Knute Rockne — the Irish proved that passing was more than a parlor trick.
🏒 1924: The Bruins officially joined the NHL, becoming the league's first team in the United States. They played their first game a month later, beating the Montreal Maroons, 2-1.
🐎 1938: Seabiscuit upset 1937 Triple Crown winner War Admiral in a head-to-head matchup at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course (home of the Preakness) in what's widely considered the greatest match race in horse racing history.
*Notre Dame vs. Army: This was the first meeting in their once-historic rivalry that used to feature annual games at Yankee Stadium. They've played just three times this century, but are planning to play again next fall.
📺 WATCHLIST: GAME 5 IN PHOENIX
The Rangers and Diamondbacks meet tonight in Phoenix for Game 5 (8:03pm ET, Fox), with Texas just 27 outs away from winning its first World Series.
Starters: Aces take the mound as the Rangers turn to Nathan Eovaldi (3.52 postseason ERA) and the Snakes hope Zac Gallen (5.27 ERA) can get back on track with a playoff outing that mirrors his excellent regular season (17-9, 3.47 ERA).
More to watch:
⚽️ MLS Playoffs:Columbus vs. Atlanta (7:30pm, Apple/FS1)
🏀 NBA:Pelicans at Thunder (7:30pm, ESPN); Clippers at Lakers* (10pm, ESPN)
🏒 NHL:Sabres at Flyers (7pm, TNT/Max); Blues at Avalanche (9:30pm, TNT/Max)
🎾 WTA Finals:Day 4 (3:30pm, Tennis)
🎾 Paris Masters:Day 3 (on now, Tennis) … Round of 32 play includes No. 1 Novak Djokovic, No. 4 Jannik Sinner and No. 7 Holger Rune.
🏈 CFB:Ball State (+5.5) at Bowling Green (7pm, ESPN2); Kent State (+3.5) at Akron (7:30pm, ESPNU)
*Tides turning: The Lakers hold a sizable 150-85 lead in the all-time series, but the Clippers have won an astonishing 11 straight games against their big brother.
🏀 NBA TRIVIA
With James Harden in tow, the Clippers now have three of the NBA's top 10 active scoring leaders in Harden (No. 3), Russell Westbrook (4) and Paul George (10).
Question: How many of the other seven can you name?
Hint: Four in the West, two in the East, one is a free agent.
Answer at the bottom.
📸 PHOTO OF THE DAY
Kolkata, India — Bangladesh fans react during a match against Pakistan at the Cricket World Cup. Pakistan won by seven wickets to keep their slim hopes of qualifying for the semifinals alive. Bangladesh fell to 1-6 for the tournament.
Fun fact: This was a contest between two of the eight most-populated countries in the world. Pakistan ranks fifth (240.5 million people) and Bangladesh ranks eighth (173 million) thanks largely to Dhaka, the world's fourth-largest city (23.2 million).
___
Trivia answer: LeBron James (1), Kevin Durant (2), Steph Curry (5), Chris Paul (6), DeMar DeRozan (7), Damian Lillard (8), Rudy Gay (9)
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