📰🏟️ Playoff party
Plus: Brady out of retirement…
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—Peter, Kyle, Sam
1) New NFL rule change kickstarts FG success
NFL kickers made more field goals longer than 50 yards this past weekend (17) than any other one-week total since 2000. The Athletic’s Mike Sando attributes ($) this to a small NFL rule change that allows kickers to “juice” their special kicking footballs for months in advance, rather than just a few hours.
2) Phillies join the MLB playoff party
The Philadelphia Phillies clinched their second straight NL East title on Monday night, with a 12.5-game lead over the second-place Mets with 11 games left in the season. Philly joins the Milwaukee Brewers as the only two teams to have clinched a spot in the MLB playoffs thus far—though the Cubs, Blue Jays, and Dodgers aren’t far behind.
Explore the full MLB playoff picture
3) Round 1 of the WNBA playoffs is in full swing
The WNBA playoffs tipped off on Sunday, with the #1-seed Minnesota Lynx and #2-seed Las Vegas Aces both cruising to blowout victories. The defending WNBA champs, #5-seed New York Liberty, could be missing star F Breanna Stewart for tonight’s Game 2 matchup after she injured her leg in a Game 1 OT win against Phoenix.
Explore the full WNBA playoff bracket
4) Tom Brady is “coming out of retirement”
The GOAT QB yesterday announced plans to participate in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, an exhibition tournament that will be held in Saudi Arabia this coming March. Brady will take the field alongside current and former NFL stars like Saquon Barkley, CeeDee Lamb, and Rob Gronkowski, while the round-robin tournament’s three teams will be coached by Pete Carroll, Sean Payton, and Kyle Shanahan. Many speculate the tourney could lay the groundwork for Brady to compete in the 2028 Olympics—which would make sense, given a gold medal is the only championship bling not yet sitting in his trophy case.
5) UEFA Champions League kicks off across Europe
The 2025-26 edition of the tournament kicked off on Tuesday, with the League Phase portion. Paris Saint-Germain, who earned their first-ever Champions League title last year, is seeking to defend their crown. Between now and January, each of the 36 Champions League teams will play eight predetermined matches, after which the bottom 12 teams will be eliminated and the playoff rounds will begin.
What to expect in 2025-26’s competition
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