Yahoo Sports AM: The 44th Ryder Cup

🎉 Yahoo, it's Friday! We took silver in Thursday's pickleball tournament. Not bad for having played a combined three times!

— Kendall Baker (email), Jeff Tracy (email)

Let's sports...

HEADLINES

🏈 TNF: The Lions improved to 3-1 and took charge of the NFC North with a 34-20 win over the Packers.

⚾️ Harper sounds off: Bryce Harper was ejected for charging umpire Ángel Hernández after a terrible call. "Ángel in the middle of something again," he said postgame. "Every year. It's the same story."

🏈 XFL + USFL: The two spring leagues are merging. A recent trademark application suggests the new league could be called the National Spring Football League (NSFL).

⚽️ Barça scandal: FC Barcelona is being investigated for "sustained active bribery" relating to alleged payments to a referee.

THE 44TH RYDER CUP

The 44th Ryder Cup teed off this morning in Rome, where Team USA looks to defend its title and win on European soil for the first time in 30 years, Jeff writes.

How it works: The Ryder Cup features match play scoring, so the most holes won (rather than the fewest strokes) wins each match.

• Each of the 28 matches over the next three days is worth one point for a win and a half-point for a tie.

• Europe needs 14.5 points to win the Cup, while the U.S. needs just 14 to retain it.

Format: There are three different match formats, all with the same scoring: Best score wins the hole (ties "halve" the hole) and most holes won wins the match.

• Foursomes (eight matches): Teams of two go head-to-head while alternating every shot on every hole. Teammates also alternate tee shots.

• Fourball (eight): Instead of alternating shots, all four players hit their own ball. The lower score among each pair is that team's score for the hole.

• Singles (12): One-on-one battles to close it out on Sunday.

Rosters: Captains Zach Johnson (USA) and Luke Donald (Europe) built their teams from a combination of automatic qualifiers and captain’s picks. Both sides feature four Ryder Cup rookies (*).

• USA: Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa*, Brian Harman*, Wyndham Clark*, Sam Burns*

• Europe: Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Sepp Straka*, Roberty MacIntyre*, Ludvig Åberg*, Nicolai Højgaard*

Notes:

• The course: Marco Simone Golf Club is about 10 miles east of Rome's city center. It opened more than 30 years ago but got a complete facelift after winning the Ryder Cup bid. The newly-renovated course opened in 2021 and has hosted the past three Italian Opens.

• All-time results: The U.S. holds a commanding 27-14-2 lead in the biennial event, but Europe is 11-9-1 since 1979 when the team expanded beyond just Great Britain and Ireland.

• Putting Italy on the map: Golf isn't particularly popular in Italy, but "this is the biggest sporting event on Italian soil since the 1960 Olympics and the World Cup in 1990," Italian golf federation president Franco Chimenti told The Guardian.

The drought: The U.S. hasn't won on European soil since 1993, when they eked out a 15-13 victory at The Belfry in England. Since then, it's been six straight losses away from home.

• Close calls: Wales 2010 (14.5-13.5), England 2002 (15.5-12.5), Spain 1997 (14.5-13.5)

• Blowouts: France 2018 (17.5-10.5), Scotland 2014 (16.5-11.5), Ireland 2006 (18.5-9.5)

While you were sleeping… Europe swept the morning foursomes, 4-0, leaving the Americans with a huge hole to dig out of right away.

MLB SNAPSHOT: THE FINAL WEEKEND

Six months later, we've reached the final weekend of the MLB season, Jeff writes.

Where it stands: Seven of 12 playoff spots have been clinched, including five division champions. Nine teams are still fighting for the remaining five spots.

• Division winners: The Orioles on Thursday clinched their first AL East title since 2014 and their first 100-win season since 1980. They're joined by the Twins, Braves, Brewers and Dodgers.

• Wild cards: The Rays and Phillies are locked into the first wild card spot in the AL and NL, respectively.

• In the hunt: Blue Jays, Astros, Mariners, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Cubs, Reds, Padres.

• Eliminated: Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Guardians, Angels, White Sox, Royals, A’s, Giants, Pirates, Mets, Cardinals, Nationals, Rockies.

What to watch: Seven series this weekend feature at least one team fighting for either a division title or playoff spot.

• Rays at Blue Jays: Toronto leads Houston by one game for the second AL wild card, and they'll clinch a spot with any combination of two wins and Mariners losses.

• Astros at Diamondbacks: Houston leads Seattle by one game for the final AL wild card thanks to the M's walk-off win on Thursday. Arizona leads Miami by 1.5 games for the second NL wild card and will clinch with a win or a Cubs loss.

• Rangers at Mariners: Any combination of two Texas wins or Houston losses will clinch the AL West for the Rangers. Seattle is one game out of the wild card.

• Marlins at Pirates: Everyone will be watching Miami — currently 0.5 games up on the Cubs for the final NL wild card — after their Thursday night game against the Mets was suspended for rain in the ninth inning while leading 2-1. It will resume on Monday.

• Cubs at Brewers: Chicago is chasing Miami in an extremely tight battle for the final spot.

• Reds at Cardinals: Cincinnati is 1.5 games back and likely needs to win out for a chance.

• Padres at White Sox: San Diego stayed alive thanks to the Marlins' suspended game. But they're one loss (or Marlins win) from elimination.

Have a night, Baltimore: In addition to winning 100 games for just the sixth time on Thursday, the Orioles also announced a new 30-year lease at Camden Yards and won their first Triple-A league title since 1985.

WILD STORY: RUNNERS FLEE DOPE TESTERS

Wild story out of India, where most athletes disappeared from a state track meet after doping officials showed up.

From The Indian Express:

"The final day of the Delhi State Athletics Championship … at the warm-up track of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the national capital, turned into a cat-and-mouse game between athletes and doping control officers on Tuesday."

"The number of participants fell by half as news spread that National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) officials had dropped in, a day after a purported video clip of the washroom at the stadium showed piles of used syringes."

This is nuts: Only one person ran the men's 100m final after seven others withdrew, citing cramps or muscle strains. In the steeplechase, one athlete kept running after crossing the finish line to evade testing.

The big picture: Doping is a serious problem in India, which ranked second behind Russia in violations per a recent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report.

DAILY RANKING: HEISMAN RACE

As September comes to a close, two Pac-12 QBs are co-favorites for the Heisman and the top 14 contenders are all QBs.

Heisman odds,via BetMGM:

1. Caleb Williams, USC (+350)

2. Michael Penix Jr., Washington (+350)

3. Quinn Ewers, Texas (+600)

4. Bo Nix, Oregon (+1200)

5. Jordan Travis, FSU (+1300)

6. Sam Hartman, Notre Dame (+1600)

7. Jayden Daniels, LSU (+1800)

8. Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma (+1800)

9. Tyler Van Dyke, Miami (+3300)

10. J.J. McCarthy, Michigan (+3500)

11. Kyle McCord, Ohio State (3500)

12. Cameron Ward, WSU (+3500)

13. Drake Maye, UNC (+4000)

14. Drew Allar, Penn State (+4000)

Non-QB contenders: Michigan RB Blake Corum (+6000), Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (+6600) and Notre Dame RB Audric Estime (+6600) have the best odds among non-QBs.

THE WORLD IN PHOTOS

Green Bay, Wisconsin — Thursday night lights at Lambeau Field. Beautiful sight.

Luton, England — Wolves fans enter the away stands ahead of a Premier League match at Luton Town's Kensington Road, which bumps up against neighborhood houses and backyards.

Bordeaux, France — Jordie Barrett signs autographs following a New Zealand All Blacks training session during the Rugby World Cup.

SEP. 29, 1954: THE CATCH

69 years ago today, Willie Mays made perhaps the most iconic catch in MLB history — an over-the-shoulder grab in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, Jeff writes.

Coming up clutch: The score was tied 2-2 in the eighth with two on and no outs when Cleveland's Vic Wertz crushed a fly ball to the Polo Grounds' uniquely deep center field*.

• Mays tracked down the 425-foot drive to stop the go-ahead run from scoring, and his Giants hit a walk-off homer two innings later before going on to sweep the series.

• "Everyone said, 'Well, it was a hard catch,'" Mays later recalled. "I said nah, it was an easy catch." Legend.

More on this day:

• ⚾️ 1987: Don Mattingly hit his MLB record sixth grand slam of the season, which is all the more remarkable given they were the only six grand slams he'd hit in his 14-year career.

• 🥇 1988: Florence Griffith Joyner completed the sprint double at the Seoul Olympics with gold in the 200m, running a still-standing world record time of 21.34 seconds.

*See that man in the far left window above? That's catcher Joe Garagiola, who was on the Giants that year for his final season. The future broadcaster was left off the World Series roster, but made up for it by having the best seat in the house for Mays' catch.

WEEKEND WATCHLIST: LONDON CALLING

While there's no shortage of intrigue on the diamond (see above), this weekend also features the NFL's first London game of the season: Jaguars vs. Falcons (9:30am ET, ESPN).

• Lines: Spread: JAX -3 | O/U: 43.5 | Money: JAX -160, ATL +135

• Best of the rest: Dolphins at Bills (Sun. 1pm, CBS); Ravens at Browns (Sun. 1pm, CBS); Chiefs at Jets (Sun. 8:20pm, NBC) … Full Week 4 schedule.

More to watch:

• ⛳️ Ryder Cup:USA vs. Europe (Fri-Sun, NBC/USA/Peacock)

• 🏈 CFB: No. 10 Utah at No. 19 Oregon State (Fri. 9pm, FS1); No. 24 Kansas at No. 3 Texas (Sat. 3:30pm, ABC); No. 13 LSU at No. 20 Ole Miss (Sat. 6pm, ESPN); No. 11 Notre Dame at No. 17 Duke (Sat. 7:30pm, ABC) … Full slate.

• 🏀 WNBA: Liberty (tied 1-1) at Sun (Fri. 7:30pm, ESPN2); Aces (up 2-0) at Dream (Fri. 9:30pm, ESPN2); Liberty at Sun, Game 4 (Sun. 3pm, ABC) ... Playoff bracket.

• ⚽️ MLS:14 games (Sat-Sun, Apple TV) … Six are free to watch as the season winds down (3-5 games left per team).

• ⚽️ NWSL:Thorns vs. Wave (Sat. 10:30pm, Paramount+) … First vs. second place with three games left.

• ⚽️ EPL:Aston Villa vs. Brighton (Sat. 7:30am, USA); Tottenham vs. Liverpool (Sat. 12:30pm, USA) … All four teams are currently in the top six.

• 🥊 Boxing:Canelo Álvarez vs. Jermell Charlo (Sat. 11pm, Showtime PPV) … Álvarez looks to defend his undisputed* super middleweight title against Charlo, the undisputed junior middleweight champion.

• 🏁 NASCAR playoffs:Talladega Superspeedway (Sun. 2pm, NBC) … The Round of 12 continues.

• 🏉 Rugby World Cup:Six matches (Fri-Sun, Peacock)

*Undisputed champs: Álvarez and Charlo are two of the 10 undisputed men's champs during the four-belt era (since 2004), meaning they simultaneously held the title in their weight class from the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO.

NFL TRIVIA

The Lions, off to an impressive 3-1 start, have the third-longest playoff drought in the NFL (six seasons).

• Question: Which two teams have longer droughts?

• Hint: Both play in the AFC.

Answer at the bottom.

SHAKE 'N BAKE

Two cars are getting the full "Talladega Nights" treatment for Sunday's NASCAR playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway, Jeff writes.

This is amazing: Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Hass Racing will be driving cars painted to look like the iconic duo from 2006's "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby."

• Preece will drive Ricky Bobby's (Will Ferrell) Wonder Bread car.

• Briscoe will drive Cal Naughton Jr's (John C. Reilly) Old Spice car.

Please never forget this very important lesson:If you ain't first, you're last.

___

Trivia answer: Jets (12 seasons) and Broncos (seven seasons)

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