The Rams' controversial win, plus a World Series prediction

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Good morning! Don’t throw three pick sixes in one half today.

While You Were Sleeping: A bad call mars a great game

What we should be talking about this morning is a potentially season-saving 30-20 win for the Rams last night over the Vikings. Matthew Stafford threw four touchdowns, Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp made big returns from injury and L.A. went from being sellers at the trade deadline to having a shot in the NFC West.

Yet all we will talk about today is this play:

That’s Sam Darnold getting his head yanked 180 degrees during what should’ve been an obvious face mask call late in the game, when the Vikings were down eight. Instead, officials missed the penalty and called a safety.

Game over. The guys on “The Athletic Football Show” talked more about the play, the game and why that call should be reviewable. Listen here.

But we have a bonus video from happier action last night:

That’s USWNT star Sophia Smith delivering a howitzer from outside the box in the Americans’ 3-1 friendly win over Iceland. Yowza. Just 24, Smith was an elder in this match, as teenagers Jaedyn Shaw and Alyssa Thompson provided USWNT’s first two goals.

The American talent pipeline is healthy. Moving on:

It’s Time: A ballyhooed World Series is here

I keep coming back to how lucky MLB is right now. Baseball is a sport of final-month unpredictability, of teams getting hot in the postseason and knocking off season-long giants. We saw it in this postseason, even. Yet here we are, hours before a World Series where the sport’s two biggest brands — and two biggest stars, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge — face off for a ring.

Interest is high. Money will flow in, hand over fist. The only thing the league can hope for now is seven games. 

Three things I want to hit before first pitch tonight: 

On the field, this is a beautiful matchup. There are stars throughout each lineup. L.A. probably has the advantage offensively, but the Dodgers’ only weakness — pitching — is a strength for New York. For all the Ohtani buzz, guys like KikĂ© HernĂĄndez and Tommy Edman have been just as good in the playoffs. Freddie Freeman is a full go, too. (Brendan Kuty and Fabian Ardaya went deeper, comparing every positional matchup.)

For Judge and Ohtani, this is generational stuff. Jayson Stark wondered yesterday if this is their Bird-Magic moment, and even if we get a scintilla of that sort of back-and-forth, I’ll be thrilled. It’s the first World Series for both, with both squarely in their primes and favored to win MVP awards this season. Delightful.

But, as Grant Brisbee wrote, it’s also OK to hate this. These are two Death Stars facing each other for the riches of the baseball republic. All of the storylines above coming together for this series feels 
 produced. Grant mentioned the “chuzzlewits and pecksniffs” at Fox dreaming of this day. Read Grant’s piece and laugh a few times today.

Pulse prediction: Yankees in six. Screenshot away.

News to Know

USF coach Abdur-Rahim dies at 43
South Florida men’s basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim died yesterday due to complications during a medical procedure, the school confirmed. Just 43, Abdur-Rahim was a rising star in the coaching ranks and was AAC Coach of the Year last season. See our full story here.

Embiid’s festering absence
The NBA is investigating Joel Embiid’s extended absence to start the season, sources told The Athletic, seeing as he is not injured, ill or tending to a personal matter, which brings the league’s player participation policy into play. Sixers coach Nick Nurse said the team simply feels like Embiid is not ready to play yet. It will be fascinating to see how the NBA responds to what appears to be a direct violation of its policy — and how it affects resting stars going forward. See our full report here.

More news

The Good Bets: The Browns are (hopefully) back

Another 3-1 week. Stacking wins with fake money on the line is the best I can hope for. More below (odds via BetMGM): 

College

  • No. 24 Navy (+12.5) at No. 12 Notre Dame
    This is a line that almost makes me feel wary, because Vegas knows more than I do. But I can’t imagine a good Midshipmen team getting rocked like this, and their offense is designed to control the clock, reducing the chance of a blowout. Smash the big line.
  • No. 8 LSU and No. 14 Texas A&M OVER 53.5
    A cop out? Yes, because I am nervous about this one. But as competently as these two defenses have played, the strengths of both offenses — A&M’s run game, LSU’s passing — match up well with the other defense’s weakness. I think this gets over, barely, and (gulp) LSU wins, claiming the SEC standings lead.

Read more: Best bets | Expert picks

NFL

  • Packers (-4) at Jaguars
    Another line that feels too easy. But Packers good, Jags bad 
 right? I am going with it despite reservations.
  • Browns (-9) vs. Ravens
    I still think Baltimore is the best team in football, but Cleveland will get a boost from Jameis Winston against a Ravens defense that’s given up plenty of points this year. Nine is a huge line in the NFL. They aren’t that bad, right?

Read more: Best bets | Expert picks

Pulse record overall: 15-14-1

Watch and Listen

đŸ“ș MLB: Yankees at Dodgers
5 p.m. on Fox
It’s here. I expect plenty of runs tonight, even with Gerrit Cole and Jack Flaherty on the mound. I’m tense already, and I don’t even care about these teams as a fan. 

đŸ“ș CFB: No. 17 Boise State at UNLV
10:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
An absolute banger G5 Friday game. Both of these teams have legit Playoff aspirations and, as we’ve discussed, Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty is probably the Heisman favorite. If you can stay up, tune in. 

Get tickets to games like these here.

🎧 “Rates and Barrels” has a fuller World Series preview than above, including smarter predictions than mine. Listen to that here.

Pulse Picks

I’m a biased LSU Tiger, sure, but read this story from Zak Keefer today on Commanders rookie wunderkind Jayden Daniels and try not to be a fan, too. His matchup against Caleb Williams on Sunday is going to be electric.

It’s beginning: Jim Bowden ranked the top 45 MLB free agents (and made predictions) for this offseason. Soto might get $600 million. 

Ole Miss built a $10 million roster hellbent on making the Playoff. They have two losses before November. Now what?

The U.S. presidential election could shape the future of golf, as Gabby Herzig writes. Clicked that one quickly. 

That Clippers hope from Wednesday night? It’s all pinned on James Harden, as Joe Vardon writes in an insightful piece about a new era in L.A. The Wall was wild, too. 

Jayson Jenks delivered the reporting we needed: figuring out how many Uncrustables each NFL team eats per week. The numbers are staggering. 

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Paul Tenorio’s story on the possible new MLS calendar. Catch up here. 

Most-read on the website yesterday: Our interview with Joe Buck on the Chris Godwin call. Worth a read if you missed it.

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(Top photo: Harry How / Getty Images)





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About The Author

Avatar of Erika Walls
Erika Walls is a journalist who loves writing about business and finance news. She's been working in the industry for over 15 years, and she's published hundreds of articles on everything from the latest IPO to the hottest new stock pick.

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