📰🏟️ NBA tip-off
Plus: World Series of firsts…
Good afternoon. Welcome back to another week full of top sports stories. Let’s get you up to speed.
—Kyle
1) Rays clinch 3rd AL pennant in franchise history
Tampa Bay beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 last night to win Game 6 and clinch the ALCS 4-2, advancing to the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers starting Friday.
- Rays SP Freddy Peralta delivered 5.1 innings of 1-run ball last night en route to winning ALCS MVP, while 3B Junior Caminero hit a key 2-run HR punctuated by a record 38.7 second trot around the bases.
- Neither the Rays or the Brewers have ever won a championship, marking the first World Series between title-less teams since 1980.
Rays bring hope of WS to Tampa Bay
📣 FULL-COURT PRESS
Headlines across the sports world
- 🏀🏆 WNBA Finals: Atlanta Dream defeat Golden State Valkyries 79-65 to tie the series at 1-1, led by 30 PTS and 16 REB from reigning DPOY Angel Reese.
- 🏈 Nico Iamaleava, QB for #9-ranked UCLA (6-0), underwent season-ending knee surgery after suffering an injury in Saturday’s win over Oregon.
- ⚾ NY Yankees manager Aaron Boone is reportedly returning for the 2027 season, his 10th in the Bronx, following a 2nd straight ALDS exit.
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2) NBA regular season tips off today
The 2026-27 regular season begins this afternoon with a tripleheader of marquee matchups: Boston v. Detroit (2 pm CT), Philly v. New York (6 pm CT), and Oklahoma City v. San Antonio (8:30 pm CT).
- Tonight's primetime game will see the Knicks raise their 2025-26 championship banner at Madison Square Garden, before facing a new-look 76ers squad featuring LeBron James and Jaylen Brown.
- Action continues with 6 more nationally televised matchups over the next 3 days, including the regular-season debuts of Giannis Antetokounmpo (Heat) and LaMelo Ball (T’Wolves) with their new teams in primetime tomorrow.
🌐 WEB GEMS
Interesting things to click
🏈 NFL wake-up call: Week 6 smashed narratives and showed how little we know.
🏀 NBA preseason predictions: ESPN experts select their 2026-27 champions from the East, West, and NBA Finals.
🏒 Choosing a winning position: NHL’s new wave of GMs is built different: ‘I am in the prediction business’
3) 49ers hold off Commanders, improve to 6-0
San Francisco jumped out to a 20-point 3rd-quarter lead against Washington last night and held on to win 23-17, improving to an NFL-best 6-0 on the season.
- QB Brock Purdy officially became the NFL’s all-time leader in passer rating (105.6; ahead of Lamar Jackson’s 102.7), after reaching the 1,500-passing-attempt threshold to qualify last night.
- Injury report: The Commanders’ top WR Terry McLaurin was carted off with what’s feared to be a "serious and season-ending" knee injury, while 49ers star WR Mike Evans left the game with a sore Achilles.