📰🏟️ History in the making
Plus: Can PSU dodge Franklin's buyout?…
Good afternoon. Welcome back to another week of top sports stories. Let’s rock and roll.
1) Mariners take a commanding ALCS lead
The Mariners have …sailed out to a 2-0 series lead against the Blue Jays, following two upset victories in Toronto. The ALCS now heads back to Seattle for three games, where the Mariners will have a chance to clinch the franchise’s first-ever World Series appearance. (Fun fact: Seattle is the only MLB team that’s never made the WS.)
- In the NLCS, the Dodgers beat the Brewers 2-1 in Game 1 last night, with Game 2 scheduled for this evening.
- Last night’s Dodgers-Brewers game also featured the first 8-6-2 double play in MLB postseason history, in a play you have to see to believe.
Check out the full playoff picture
2) Penn State may be off the hook for much of James Franklin’s buyout
After the Nittany Lions abruptly fired head football coach James Franklin on Sunday, Penn State now owes Franklin nearly $50M in buyout money—the second-largest sum in CFB history.
- However, Franklin’s contract contains offset language that requires him to look for another job in coaching or broadcasting, and to “make good faith efforts to obtain the maximum reasonable salary.”
- Once Franklin gets a new job, the salary he receives will offset some or all of the ~$8M/year Penn State owes him in a buyout, per the contract.
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3) NFL TV ratings are soaring. Here’s why
The NFL is averaging 18.6M viewers/game through Week 5, its second-highest level on record and an 8% increase from the previous season. And this historically high viewership has largely been driven by a major change in how audiences are measured.
- Nielsen's new "Big Data + Panel" methodology now incorporates data from millions of smart TVs and set-top boxes, while the company also updated its Out-of-Home panel that covers communal viewing.
- So far, the new system has delivered an NFL audience lift of ~2M viewers/game, according to The Athletic ($).
Go inside the viewership boost
4) Purdue tops preseason CBB rankings for the first time
The Boilermakers were ranked #1 in the Associated Press’ preseason poll published late Monday, three weeks ahead of the start of the men’s college basketball season (November 3). Houston, Florida, UConn, and St. John's round out the top-five.
- The SEC is looking to repeat its success from last season, when it earned a record-high 14 March Madness bids and conference member Florida won a national title.
- The conference has six teams in the AP preseason poll, tied for the most with the Big Ten and Big 12.
5) Tennis’ Six Kings Slam returns to Saudi Arabia
The exhibition tennis tournament is returning to the Saudi capital of Riyadh for its second edition starting tomorrow, when six of the world’s top men’s players—including Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic—will face off.
- They’ll be competing for a record-high total prize purse of $13.5M, including a $6M payout for the winner—more than any Grand Slam title offers, despite a max of three matches per player.
- The Six Kings Slam will also be streamed on Netflix for the first time.
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