📰🏟️ Crunch time
Plus: A 58-year-old freshman…
Good evening. Welcome back to another week of interesting and relevant sports stories, five at a time. Let’s play read ball!
—Peter, Kyle
1) It’s the final week of the MLB season
Four NL teams have already clinched a playoff berth (the Brewers, Phillies, Cubs, and Dodgers), while the Blue Jays are the lone AL team to have punched their ticket—though the Yankees and Mariners also have a chance to do so tonight. On the flip side, the Tigers and Mets are on the verge of missing the postseason entirely, even after building massive division leads earlier in the season.
Check out all the clinching scenarios
2) Punting is becoming a lost art
Through Week 3, NFL teams are averaging just 3.65 punts/game—a figure that, if it holds over the whole season, would mark the fewest in league history (and down ~1 punt/game from 2018). Analysts say more teams are punting on punting due to two main factors: coaches’ increasing willingness to go for it on fourth down, and the rise of field-goal kickers who can comfortably nail attempts from 60+ yards.
3) WNBA’s NY Liberty fire head coach one year after winning title
The Liberty on Tuesday announced head coach Sandy Brondello’s contract won’t be renewed, four days after the defending WNBA champs experienced a first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Phoenix Mercury. The WNBA semifinals are currently in full swing, with both series tipping off tonight: the Lynx (1-0) vs. the Mercury, followed by the Fever (1-0) vs. the Aces.
See a full WNBA playoff breakdown
4) A 58-year-old freshman is playing D3 college football
Tom Cillo, 58, is a freshman defensive lineman for Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania (best known for hosting the Little League World Series). Cillo has a decades-long history of competing in powerlifting, strongman contests, bodybuilding, and half-marathons. He also broke the Pennsylvania state deadlift record for the 55-59 age group last year, at 580 pounds. Cillo is currently four years older than his head coach—and all three of his kids are older than any of his teammates.
5) NWSL’s Kansas City Current are closing in on the GOAT season
KC clinched the NWSL Shield, aka best record in the league, on Saturday, with their record-extending ninth-straight shutout win. The Current also became the fastest team in NWSL history to win the Shield, with ~20% of the season remaining. Kansas City’s 17-2-2 record has earned them 53 points thus far—and their 16-point lead over the Washington Spirit in second place is bigger than the gap between Washington and 11th-place Angel City FC.
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