Yahoo Sports AM: Most-watched rivalry
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🚨 HEADLINES
⚾️ MLB doubleheader: Bryce Harper and the Phillies took Game 1 of the NLCS, 5-3. Texas held off Houston, 5-4, to take a 2-0 ALCS lead.
🏈 Dallas gets the dub: The Cowboys squeaked past the Chargers, 20-17, on "Monday Night Football" to improve to 4-2.
🏒 The streak is over: The Capitals' home sellout streak has come to an end after 14 years and 588 consecutive games, WashPost reports.
🏈 NFL QB injuries: Anthony Richardson (shoulder) is "probably" out for the year, Trevor Lawrence (knee sprain) could miss "TNF," Justin Fields (dislocated thumb) is doubtful for Week 7.
🏏 THE MOST-WATCHED RIVALRY IN SPORTS
One of the biggest rivalries in sports took center stage on Saturday when India and Pakistan faced off at the Cricket World Cup, Jeff writes.
Record audience: The match — an India victory — set the global on-demand streaming record, drawing 35 million concurrent viewers to Disney+ Hotstar. For reference, that's five times the peak streaming audience of the most recent Super Bowl (7 million), also a record.
An estimated 134,000 fans flooded into Narendra Modi Stadium, turning the world's biggest cricket ground into a sea of mostly blue India jerseys.
There was so much demand for hotel rooms that some fans pulled off the clever if unethical gambit of checking themselves into hospitals for an overnight stay.
On-field rivalry: These neighboring countries have long been cricket superpowers, and they're currently ranked No. 1 (India) and No. 2 (Pakistan) in One Day International, the format used in this World Cup.
Pakistan holds an 88-74 edge (with 39 ties) across ODI, T20 and Test formats. But following Saturday's victory, India is now a perfect 8-0 against Pakistan in the World Cup.
Both teams have three players who rank among the world's top 13 batters. India has the better bowlers (pitchers), with two in the top eight, while Pakistan has none in the top 10.
Off-field tension: India and Pakistan were once part of the same British-ruled land until the partition of 1947, when they both gained independence. Since then, their geopolitical relationship has been complicated at best, and bloody at worst.
They've fought four wars against each other and tensions escalated in 2008, when 10 men associated with a Pakistani terrorist group stormed buildings in Mumbai, killing 164 people.
Those attacks have led to fewer cricket matches, and Saturday's game was attended almost exclusively by Indian fans because it's nearly impossible for Pakistanis to travel there.
Humanity shines through… When Pakistan's team arrived at the airport last month, Indian fans greeted them with huge cheers — a poignant reminder that there's always room for love. "The way people are responding towards our team, it is not like we are in India," Pakistan captain Babar Azam told reporters. "It is like we are home."
🥇 LA28: NEW AND RETURNING SPORTS
Two new Olympic sports are coming to the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, and four more will return after time away, Jeff writes.
New sports:
Flag football*: The five-a-side, non-contact version of the game is one of the nation's fastest-growing sports thanks to a push from the NFL. The Olympics competition will feature six teams for both men and women, and NFL players are already expressing interest.
Squash: After falling short of inclusion in 2016, 2020 and 2024, squash finally made the cut for LA28. Egypt looks like the early favorite, with nine of the world's top 20 players on both the men's and women's sides.
Returning sports:
Cricket: England beat France in cricket's lone appearance at the 1900 Paris Games. 128 years later, men and women will compete in the shorter, T20 format. Americans will get a glimpse of what's to come next year, when the U.S. co-hosts the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Lacrosse: It was an official sport twice (1904 and 1908) and has been a demonstration sport three times since, most recently in 1948. Like cricket, men and women will play a newer, faster version called Sixes, which was created five years ago with Olympics inclusion in mind.
Baseball: After being a demonstration sport eight times between 1904 and 1988, baseball made its Olympics debut in 1992. It has been featured five more times since then, most recently at Tokyo 2020 where host Japan won its first gold.
Softball: Since making its debut in 1996, it's been on the program every year that baseball has (2000, 2004, 2008, 2020). Team USA, which won the first three gold medals, will try to reclaim its title from Japan, which has won the past two.
Every sport: As of right now, there are 36 sports on the LA28 program. That could grow to 37 if boxing makes the cut, but that decision was "put on hold" on Monday as the sport's governing body is no longer recognized by the IOC.
A-L: Aquatics, archery, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, canoe, cricket, cycling, equestrian, fencing, flag football, golf, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, lacrosse
M-W: Modern pentathlon, rowing, rugby, sailing, shooting, skateboarding, soccer, softball, sport climbing, squash, surfing, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling
*Football's back in L.A.: Tackle football was played as a demonstration sport in 1932, when Los Angeles first hosted the Summer Olympics.
⚾️ NG OUT IN MIAMI
Kim Ng, the first female general manager in MLB history, just led the Marlins to their first non-pandemic postseason in 20 years. Now, she's looking for a new job, Jeff writes.
What's happening: Ng has declined her option for 2024 after reportedly learning that the Marlins planned to hire a president of baseball operations to sit above her in the organization.
"Last week, [Marlins principal owner Bruce Sherman] and I discussed his plan to reshape the baseball operations department," Ng told The Athletic.
"In our discussions, it became apparent that we were not completely aligned on what that should look like and I felt it best to step away."
Who is Ng? The Indiana native, 54, has been around the game her whole life, playing softball at the University of Chicago before spending the past 30+ years in MLB.
She first worked with the White Sox, going from intern to assistant director of baseball operations in a span of five years before joining the Yankees as assistant GM in 1998.
She later served as Dodgers VP and assistant GM (2001-11) and MLB's senior VP of baseball operations (2011-20) before her historic hire by the Marlins in 2020.
What's next: Ng is likely to draw interest from other teams. One opening to keep an eye on? The Red Sox, who are searching for a new head of baseball operations after firing Chaim Bloom last month.
🏀 DAILY RANKING: MEN'S PRESEASON POLL
Kansas sits comfortably atop the men's preseason AP poll, earning 46 of 63 first-place votes as the basketball season draws nearer, set to tip off in just 20 days, Jeff writes.
The rankings: The SEC leads the way with five ranked teams, followed by the Big 12 (four), Big East (four), ACC (three), Big Ten (three), Pac-12 (two), West Coast (two), AAC (one) and Mountain West (one).
Kansas (46 first-place votes)
Duke (11)
Purdue (3)
Michigan State (1)
Marquette
UConn (2)
Houston
Creighton
Tennessee
Florida Atlantic
Gonzaga
Arizona
Miami
Arkansas
Texas A&M
Kentucky
San Diego State
Texas
UNC
Baylor
USC
Villanova
Saint Mary's
Alabama
Illinois
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin (53), Colorado (49), UCLA (47), St. John's (47), Maryland (34), Virginia (27), Auburn (27), TCU (24), Mississippi State (20), Kansas State (13), Xavier (8), Memphis (7), Missouri (6) Boise State (4), Indiana (3), Florida (2), College of Charleston (2), New Mexico (1), Drake (1)
📆 OCT. 17, 1989: EARTHQUAKE AT THE WORLD SERIES
34 years ago today, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit the San Francisco Bay Area before Game 3 of the World Series between the Giants and A's. The disaster claimed 63 lives, Jeff writes.
The aftermath: Candlestick Park shook, while bridges and roads in the area collapsed. The World Series may have ultimately saved lives, with so many people at the ballpark or in front of their TVs rather than on the road during rush hour (the quake hit at 5:04pm on a Tuesday).
⛳️ 1860: Willie Park Sr. won the inaugural Open Championship, beating fellow Scotsman Tom Morris Sr. by two strokes at Prestwick Golf Club* in Ayrshire, Scotland.
🏈 2015: No. 7 Michigan State stunned No. 12 Michigan in Ann Arbor, grabbing a flubbed punt and running it back for the game-winning score as time expired.
*Historic track: Prestwick has hosted 24 Open Championships, second only to the Old Course at St. Andrews (30).
📺 WATCHLIST: PHILS SEEK 2-0 LEAD
The Phillies will look to keep rolling tonight at home (8pm ET, TBS/Max), where they're 5-0 this postseason.
League domination: Philly has won 10 straight home postseason games against NL opponents dating back to last season.
More to watch:
🏒 NHL:Lightning at Sabres (7:30pm, ESPN); Avalanche at Kraken (10pm, ESPN)
🏈 CFB:MTSU (+14.5) at Liberty (7pm, CBSSN); Western Kentucky (-7.5) at Jacksonville State (7:30pm, ESPNU); Southern Miss (+17.5) at South Alabama (7:30pm, ESPN2)
🏀 NBA preseason:Knicks at Celtics (7:30pm, NBA); Nuggets at Clippers (10:30pm, ESPN2)
⚽️ Friendly:USMNT vs. Ghana (8:30pm, TNT/Max) … In Nashville.
⚽️ Euro qualifiers*:England vs. Italy (2:45pm, FS1)
*Where it stands: England qualifies with a win today, and would join the other eight teams who've already secured spots in the 24-team tournament next summer in Germany.
⚽️ SOCCER TRIVIA
Cristiano Ronaldo ($260M) and Lionel Messi ($135M) are two of five soccer players set to earn over $100 million this season, per Forbes' annual report.
Question: Can you name the other three?
Hint: Two currently play in Saudi Arabia.
Answer at the bottom.
📚 THIS BOOK IS HILARIOUS
Yahoo Sports AM reader Jon Savitt, an award-winning writer and comedian, has published a new book that I simply have to share. It's called "Unreal Athletes: Sports Legends You've Never Heard Of (Because They Don't Exist)."
Take a look inside: This book is essentially a collection of profiles of completely made-up athletes — and it's absolutely hilarious. Here's an example:
Whitney Malone (Logrolling)
You can't think about logrolling without thinking about Whitney Malone. Sure, she's a 3x Olympian, a world-class athlete, and an influencer with multi-million dollar brand endorsements (including Lockheed Martin, controversially), but her biggest story started off the log. Lost in the woods for nearly eight years as a child, Whitney relied on her sharp survival skills while learning her way around nature. This brutal experience ultimately gave her the expertise and knowledge needed to become a competitive logroller, as captured beautifully in the Oscar-winning film, Log Life — where Whitney is played by an inspired Tilda Swinton.
Here's Jon on the premise of the book: "I feel like almost every game I watch, a commentator says some hilarious or incredible tidbit about a player or situation, and I'm always thinking, 'Wait, what…is that real?' I wanted to play that up and exaggerate those instances as much as possible."
___
Trivia answer: Neymar, Al Hilal ($112M); Kylian Mbappé, PSG ($110M); Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ($106M)
We hope you enjoyed this edition of Yahoo Sports AM, our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
