See things others don’t!

Make sure you hug your favorite Yankees fan today. There was a chance for all four MLB Division Series to end on Wednesday, but the only one that did featured the Pinstripes playing at home with Cam Schlittler going against Toronto’s bullpen. Schlittler wasn’t as amazing as he was in Game 3 of the Wild Card series against Boston, but he was still pretty solid with just two runs allowed in six and one third innings. He just wasn’t a sharp as the group of eight Blue Jays relief pitchers that held New York to two runs in nine innings. The first run came on a Ryan McMahon solo shot in the third inning off of Mason Fluharty that tied the score at 1-1. The Yankees didn’t score again until Aaron Judge singled off of Jeff Hoffman in the ninth to drive in Jasson Dominguez. However, the next batter Cody Bellinger struck out to end the game with Toronto on top 5-2.

Toronto got to Schlittler early when George Springer led off the game with a double and was driven in on Vladmir Guerrero Jr.’s single. The Blue Jays wasted an Addison Barger leadoff double in the fourth, but struck again in the fifth when Ernie Clement and Andre Gimenez hit back-to-back singles and Springer followed with a sac fly. Clement got Toronto’s offense started again when he singled with one out in the seventh, and then Jazz Chisholm botched a potential double play ground ball to set up a clutch two-RBI single by Nathan Lukes.

Nathan for You

Nathan Lukes delivers a clutch 2-run single in the 7th! pic.twitter.com/cIvnwP7ExS

— MLB (@MLB) October 9, 2025

That made the score 4-1, and Toronto would add another in the eighth when Myles Straw drove in Alejandro Kirk following his leadoff double. The Yankees loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the frame, but Austin Wells was retired on a routine fly ball to left off of Hoffman’s first pitch to him.

We were so close to having the Yankees and Phillies eliminated in the same night. It seemed like a possibility when Tommy Edman homered off of Ranger Suarez in the top of the third inning in Los Angeles, but Suarez ended up pitching five innings without allowing another run while the Philadelphia offense responded immediately and took the lead in the top of the fourth. Kyle Schwarber set the tone with a massive solo tank off of Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

KYLE SCHWARBER ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!

This ball may not have landed yet 🤯 pic.twitter.com/xIAPc4r59W

— MLB (@MLB) October 9, 2025

The Phillies went on two score two more runs in the frame thanks to singles by Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm as well as a throwing error from Andy Pages and a sac fly by Brandon Marsh. Philadelphia blew big opportunities to extend their 3-1 lead in the fifth and the seventh, but it didn’t matter because Suarez held down the fort until the visitors finally broke through for five runs in the eighth off of Clayton Kershaw, adding to the future Hall of Famer’s postseason struggles. The Phillies won 8-2 to force a Game 4 tonight at Chavez Ravine. I would encourage the Dodgers to not let this series return to the City of Brotherly Love.

Just like Philadelphia, the Cubs went down 1-0 but then rallied to force a Game 4. Pete Crow-Armstrong drove in a pair of runs during Chicago’s four-run splurge in the first. Even thought the Cubs didn’t score again for the rest of the game, they still held on for the 4-3 win thanks to another great bullpen effort. Five relievers combined to allow just one run over five innings after Jameson Taillon left the game. If the Cubs can win once more at the Friendly Confines, they’ll force a Game 5 in Milwaukee on Saturday.

Over in the American League, the Tigers won a massive Game 4 at home to ensure that Tarik Skubal gets at least one more start this season. He’ll take the bump in Game 5 at Seattle thanks to Detroit overcoming a three-run deficit and defeating the Mariners 9-3 on Wednesday. Seattle’s Bryce Miller got off to a good start on the mound and the team took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning, but it could have been more since one of those runs scored when Victor Robles grounded into a double play with the bases loaded in the fourth. In the bottom of the fifth, Dillon Gingler chased Miller from the game with an RBI double before Jahmai Jones and Javier Baez notched RBI hits off of southpaw Gabe Speier.

In the next inning, Riley Greene homered off of Speier to give Detroit its first lead. The Tigers then scored three runs off of Eduard Bazardo with the last two coming on a two-run blast by Javier Baez. The four-run rally allowed Detroit to cruise to victory and Baez ended the day with four RBI.

We’ve got a wild sports night ahead of us. Not only are the Phillies and Cubs trying to stave off elimination, but the Giants are hosting the Eagles on Thursday Night Football. That’s probably good news for MLB since the Giants are quite shallow at wide receiver with Darius Slayton missing the game and Malik Nabers out for the season. The Eagles have a chance to get the sour taste of losing out of their mouths after they blew a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter against Denver on Sunday. New York is a ripe target after losing in New Orleans. Maybe that loss doesn’t happen without the Giants turning the ball over five times in a row, but there is still a talent gap to worry about. If we are going to pull of the upset, we need to protect the ball, get some big plays from Daniel Bellinger and Theo Johnson in the passing game, and force Jalen Hurts to throw the ball.

There are also 14 NHL games on the slate with the Rangers, Islanders, and Devils all in action. The Rangers are slight favorites in Buffalo after getting shut out by Pittsburgh two nights ago at Madison Square Garden. Hopefully the Penguins will be just as tough when they host the Islanders tonight. Meanwhile, New Jersey is at Carolina to face the team that ended its last two playoff runs.

And don’t forget college hockey! Gavin McKenna and Penn State get Clarkson in the home opener tonight. Anyway, here are my NFL picks for this week.

Eagles at Giants +6.5

Eagles coming off a loss should hammer the Giants. This isn’t a homer pick, it’s a sharp pick. Public will be all over Philly.

Broncos at Jets +7.5

The Jets were not feisty at home last week against Dallas, but I think they will have an easier time with Denver’s offense and stay inside the number.

Cardinals at Colts -6.5

The Colts destroy bad teams. Jonathan Gannon apologizing after he chewed out his player for inexcusably dropping the ball is very soft and a sign that the inmates are running the asylum in Arizona.

Chargers -4.5 at Dolphins

I am thinking that the Bolts will bounce back after dropping two straight to NFC East opponents.

Browns +4.5 at Steelers

The Browns showed fight in England and I am loving what I see with Quinshon Judkins. He is a horse.

Cowboys -3.5 at Panthers

The Boys easily covered for me against the Jets, so I am sticking with them to take care of business on the road again.

Seahawks -1.5 at Jaguars

Letdown spot for the Jaguars after they used a pick six to flip their fate against the Chiefs.

Rams -7.5 at Ravens

Are the Ravens really this bad? Have to fade them after they burned me last week.

Patriots at Saints +3.5

I told you the Saints are tough at home! I also picked the Giants last week, but that was mostly a homer pick.

Titans +4.5 at Raiders

Tennessee’s win in Arizona was a total fluke, but it will still raise the vibes of that team. Plus, the Raiders shouldn’t be laying points to anyone.

49ers at Buccaneers -2.5

This should be another thrilling Buccaneers game that Baker Mayfield finds a way to win at the end.

Bengals +14.5 at Packers

Too many points! Even though the Bengals lost their last three games by a combined 76 points!

Lions at Chiefs -1.5

Detroit has returned to form since its disappointing Week1 loss, but it has only played Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Arrowhead at night will be a different story.

Bills -3.5 at Falcons

This is a very square pick, but it’s going to take more than one win over Washington to wipe Atlanta’s 30-0 loss to Carolina from my mind.

Bears at Commanders -4.5

Washington has already clobbered the Giants and Raiders by double digits at home. Chicago isn’t much better.

It was fun listening to Yankees fans complain about Aaron Judge’s failures in clutch situations during October. It was hard to believe that such a dominant player could play so poorly in the Postseason, but the expectations are high when you play for the same franchise as Mr. October and Mr. November. All good things must come to an end, though, and on Tuesday night, Judge finally came through with a massive home run to save the Yankees from elimination.

AARON JUDGE OFF THE FOUL POLE!

TIE GAME!!! #ALDS pic.twitter.com/rplPnEsRoH

— MLB (@MLB) October 8, 2025

It was only a matter of time before Judge finally did something incredible during October, but what made his game-tying laser beam especially wild was that it came on a 100 mph 0-2 fastball that was off the plate inside. I have no idea how this man turned on this pitch and somehow kept it fair. If you look at the count, the velocity, and the location, it’s one of the craziest home runs ever hit.

This season, there have been 528 pitches on 0-2 counts, thrown out of the zone, at 99 MPH or above.

Aaron Judge tonight is the first player to hit one of those out for a home run. 🤯

🔊 @Ken_Rosenthal pic.twitter.com/UQBS2CI9wT

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 8, 2025

Judge is well on his way to living up to Derek Jeter’s legacy of the media kissing his rear end every fall. Before the heroics, the Yankees appeared done for. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run home run in the first inning to put Toronto on top, and a string of singles in the third inning plated four more runs and chased Carlos Rodon from the ballgame. The Yankees began their rise in the bottom of the frame with Judge hitting an RBI double and Giancarlo Stanton following with a sac fly. After Judge tied the game in the fourth, Jazz Chisholm hit a monster solo shot in the fifth to give New York the lead, and Austin Wells followed with an RBI single to make it three straight crooked numbers for the Yankees.

The Blue Jays might end up kicking themselves for letting the Yankees off the ropes. Cam Schlittler is back on the bump tonight for the first time since his Wild Card masterpiece. It’s no wonder why New York is a -185 favorite tonight.

The other Wild Card game on Tuesday saw another AL MVP candidate hit a home run while the Mariners cruised to victory behind a strong Logan Gilbert start and retook homefield advantage from the Tigers.

🍑 BIG DUMPER #POSTSEASON HOMER 🍑#ALDS pic.twitter.com/HUzynv9Xpf

— MLB (@MLB) October 8, 2025

Cal Raleigh’s home run wasn’t as clutch as Judge’s, but you know who was clutch? The guy who caught the home run after it bounced in the bullpen.

A fan wearing a Dump here shirt just caught Cal Raleigh’s home run

Dudes rock pic.twitter.com/l5r3TIVoH6

— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) October 8, 2025

Gilbert AKA Walter allowed just one run on four hits in six innings and left with a 5-1 lead thanks to Seattle scoring two runs each in the third and fourth innings off of Detroit start Jack Flaherty. The Mariners have a chance to advance to the ALCS with another win this afternoon. All four Division Series are in action today, with the Brewers, Blue Jays, and Dodgers also having a shot to move on.

I’m glad there is so much baseball on, because the start of NHL season was miserable for me. The Rangers allowed Pittsburgh’s Justin Brazeau to score late in the first period and never found an answer. The Penguins ended up winning 3-0 with a pair of late empty-net goals and Latvian goalie Arturs Silovs stopped all 25 New York shots for his first career shutout.

What is it with the Dodgers and the eighth inning in October? Los Angeles might be 4-0 in postseason play, but every eighth inning it gives the opponent a chance to come back. Twice against the Reds, the Dodgers allowed a crooked number in the eighth inning to give Cincinnati hope of overcoming a seemingly impossible deficit. In Game 1 in Philadelphia, the home team loaded the bases in the eighth and put the tying run on second base before Alex Vesia came in from the bullpen and got Edmundo Sosa to fly out.

Once again in NLDS Game 2, trouble struck the Dodgers in the eighth inning. The boys in blue were leading 4-0 thanks to a seventh inning rally that featured RBI singles from Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani, but Emmet Sheehan allowed a one-out triple down the right field line by Max Kepler to wake the Phillies up. Kepler scored on Trea Turner’s single, but Sheehan retired Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper to escape further trouble.

The real danger for the Dodgers this time around came in the ninth, and it came because Dave Roberts decided to insert Blake Treinen into the save situation rather than Roki Sasaki, who had closed out Game 2 of the Wild Card and Game 1 of the NLDS with little trouble. Treinen, on the other hand, was coming off a September in which he allowed 10 earned runs (12 total) in nine and one third innings. It was a surprise to probably no one except Roberts that Treinen started the ninth by allowing three straight hits, the last of which was a double that Nick Castellanos hooked down the left field line to score a pair of runs and put the tying run in scoring position.

A perfectly executed wheel play. 🤌 pic.twitter.com/aVRONlLEtP

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 7, 2025

Still, Roberts would not go to Sasaki. He had to risk the game with Vesia first. Fortunately for the Dodgers, Roberts was not the only lousy manager that evening. Philadelphia’s Rob Thomson asked Bryson Stott to bunt. Not only did that eliminate the chance of the winning run reaching base, but it allowed Max Muncy to field the ball on the left side of the infield and throw to Mookie Betts, who tagged out Castellanos at third. So much for the tying run being in scoring position.

The Dodgers weren’t out of the woods yet, though. The three-batter-minimum rule meant that Vesia had to stay on the mound and pitch to the right-handed Harrison Bader. He ripped a single into left field to reignite Philadelphia’s rally and put Stott into scoring position. Stott then reached third on Mex Kepler’s ground out before Sasaki finally entered the game and retired Trea Turner on a ground ball to second base to end the game. Los Angeles had to make the game as dramatic as possible, so Tommy Edman spiked the throw to first, forcing Freddie Freeman to make a remarkable pick at first in order to avoid a terrible collapse.

Jackson Chourio THREE-RUN HOMER

All seven @Brewers runs have come via home runs! #NLDS pic.twitter.com/wVJnG0qsVi

— MLB (@MLB) October 7, 2025

Thanks to Roberts finally putting the correct pitcher in the game, the Phillies are down 0-2 against a Dodgers team that appears to be back in championship form. Elsewhere in Monday night Senior Circuit action, the Brewers held serve against the Cubs and pushed them into an 0-2 hole thanks to home runs by Andrew Vaughn, William Contreras, and Jackson Chourio. Chicago jumped out on top in the first when Seiya Suzuki hit a three-run shot off of Aaron Ashby, but Vaughn came back to a three-run job of his own in the bottom of the frame. The Cubs wouldn’t score again off of Milwaukee’s seven pitchers with Jacob Misiorowski doing the most work with three innings and 57 pitches. Chourio’s three-run bomb in the fourth inning put the game out of reach and the Brewers won 7-3.

Lawrence to Thomas Jr. for 33 yards!

KCvsJAX on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/v0Sj6ufjvO

— NFL (@NFL) October 7, 2025

There was also a big football game on Monday night with Jacksonville upsetting Kansas City 31-28. Trevor Lawrence ran for two scores, including the game-winner in the final minute after tripping over his own offensive lineman. With just 23 seconds left on the clock, the Chiefs were unable to respond. Perhaps the most impressive play Lawrence made on the night was his 33-yard dime to Brian Thomas Jr. to convert a 3rd and 7 on Jacksonville’s final drive. Kansas City might have come away with the win if not for a shocking pick six thrown by Patrick Mahomes to Devin Lloyd that turned a potential 21-14 Chiefs lead into a 21-14 Jaguars lead late in the third quarter.

Jacksonville looks to be a real threat in the AFC after upsetting San Francisco and Kansas City in consecutive weeks. Meanwhile, the Chiefs still have some work to do after two straight win to turn around their 0-2 start. They have to beat Detroit on Sunday in order to get back to a .500 record.

Today we get to see the Detroit Tigers play their first home Postseason game since defeating Cleveland in the Wild Card and stealing homefield advantage from Seattle. After that, the Blue Jays have a chance to send the Yankees packing and complete a three-game sweep in the Bronx. The NHL is also beginning its regular season with a tripleheader. Should be a thrilling evening.

It was really frustrating being a Giants fan on Sunday. Jaxson Dart led Big Blue on touchdown drives during the team’s first two possessions to take 14-3 lead, and it looked like we might be building some momentum ahead of Thursday night’s battle against Philadelphia. Instead of cruising to victory, though, the Giants turned the ball over five times in a row while New Orleans capitalized with 23 unanswered points to get its first win of the season, 26-14.

It’s tough for the Giants to hit on the big play with Malik Nabers missing the rest of season due to a knee injury, but Dart and company were still able to move the ball up and down the field well enough to beat a team like the Saints. The defense even helped out by limiting New Orleans to one offensive touchdown on an 87-yard pass from Spencer Rattler to Rashid Shaheed. The problem was that the Saints got a defensive touchdown when Cam Skattebo fumbled on the first play of the fourth quarter with the Giants threatening in the Red Zone. The ball popped out at the perfect spot for Jordan Howden to scoot 86 yards for the score, and the Giants’ best chance of retaking the lead was wiped out.

Cam Skattebo fumbles in the redzone, Saints scoop-and-score!pic.twitter.com/4W3uhklsmZ

— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) October 5, 2025

New York was looking for the lead before halftime when Darius Slayton caught a pass in Saints territory and then coughed it up for the first turnover of the day. Dart also lost a fumble in the third quarter without being touched by the defense. The final two turnovers were Dart passes that were intercepted by Kool-Aid McKinstry. I thought the first one Dart tried to force into a tight window, but the second was because Beaux Collins broke off his route too early. That’s something that can’t happen on a team that might have the worst wide receiver pool in the league without Nabers. 16 of Dart’s 26 completions were received by tight ends Daniel Bellinger and Theo Johnson as well as Skattebo. Wan’Dale Robinson caught five passes on seven targets, but he only gained 30 yards on them.

The Giants have a chance against the Eagles on Thursday if they can avoid turnovers and keep Philly out of the end zone, but that is a tough ask against one of the league’s best teams. It just feels like the Giants gave away a winnable game on Sunday. It probably goes the other way if the Giants just hang onto the football.

To help us feel better about the Giants, here are some teams that had it even worse than us on Sunday.

Las Vegas Raiders: They were destroyed 40-6 at Indianapolis and have lost four in a row since their season-opening win at New England. It looks like it is time to write Geno Smith off again since he has nine interceptions already.

New York Jets: We can always count on the Jets to somehow be more embarrassing. They surprisingly closed as a favorite over Dallas before getting blown out 37-22 in a huge victory for square bettors and bandwagon New Jersey Cowboys fans. This game was 30-6 after three quarters.

Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals were leading the woeful Titans 21-6 early in the fourth quarter when Emari Demercado burst up the middle and into daylight. It appeared to be a 72-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach, but Demercado let go of the ball inches before he crossed the goal line, resulting in a touchback. The game should have ended again later in the fourth quarter when Cam Ward threw an interception to Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, only to have him fumble the ball away and get recovered by Tennessee’s Tyler Lockett in the end zone for a touchdown. The wild play helped the Titans score 16 straight points for a comeback win. I don’t know how you live with yourself as a Cardinals fan. This is one of the most brutal losses of all time.

Picked!
Fumbled!
Touchdown!

A WILD @TITANS TD! pic.twitter.com/o22RMgaghL

— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025

Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins led 17-0 in the second quarter in Carolina, but lost 27-24 because Rico Dowdle ran for 206 yards and a touchdown. Just like the Giants blowing an 11-point lead to Rattler and the Saints, it took something extraordinary for Miami to allow a second-division team to come back. The Dolphins meanwhile, had 19 yards rushing for the day.

Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens are like the New York Mets because they came into the season with championship aspirations but are flaming out terribly. They had a chance to get their season back on track against Houston, but Cooper Rush threw three interception and Baltimore continued its shocking trend of being unable to run the ball with Derrick Henry. After rushing for 169 yards in the opener at Buffalo, the future Hall of Famer has just 148 yards on 46 carries in his last four games. The Ravens’ defense allowed a near perfect performance from C.J. Stroud en route to a 44-10 defeat.

New York Yankees: The hunt for the World Series was alive in the Bronx after the Bombers defeated Boston in the Wild Card series, but after dropping Game 1 of the ALDS 10-1 in Toronto, the Yankees fell behind 12-0 in Game 2 before losing 13-7. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a grand slam in the fourth inning and Trey Yesavage held the Yankees hitless for more than five innings while striking out 11 batters in just his fourth big league start.

Thank goodness for Gavin McKenna. That’s all I have to say after a very sad sports day. The phenom’s game-winning blast from the right circle to complete a second straight third period comeback for Penn State was a nice little pick-me-up, but it didn’t make up for the disaster that was Penn State football on Saturday.

FORKS DOWN!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/T4SiHDHh0t

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 5, 2025

The Nittany Lions lost 42-37 to a UCLA team that had never had the lead during its 0-4 start and had already fired its head coach DeShaun Foster. The Bruins played like they had nothing to lose and ambushed Penn State with an onside kick following their opening touchdown drive. That helped lead to UCLA holding a massive time of possession advantage in this game, but it was no excuse for Penn State acting like it had never seen a scrambling quarterback before. Nico Iamaleava rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries while the Penn State defense was continually out of position to stop him. The edge rushers led by Dani Dennis-Sutton kept taking wide routes into the backfield, which made it easy for Iamaleava to escape. Once he was out of the pocket, he faced either no resistance from man defense or feeble resistance from zone defense with Penn State missing tackling opportunities.

"It's like watching Vince Young as he gets out of the pocket right here."

Gary Danielson with high praise for Nico Iamaleava. pic.twitter.com/wFrZYO8pH6

— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 4, 2025

Penn State had opportunities to get back in this game, most notably when it blocked a punt and scooped up the ball in the end zone for a quick touchdown the score 27-21 midway through the third quarter. Every time Penn State got within a score, though, Iamaleava had the answer. Penn State finally had a chance to tie the score after stopping UCLA on fourth down with two minutes left in the game, but Drew Allar had his option with Trebor Pena running jet sweep action blown up by the UCLA defense on 4th and 2.

That fourth down failure pretty much ended the game, so I’m not going to get into how much Penn State botched UCLA’s final possession and allowed the Bruins to run several seconds off the clock before taking an intentional safety from punt formation. That was another example of poor coaching in this game.

I’ve defended James Franklin because even though he loses a lot of big games, he usually takes care of business as a favorite and puts Penn State in position for a Playoff berth in college football’s new landscape. However, I’m done defending this guy who will berate the refs at the end of a blowout over a cupcake and then punt from inside the 40-yard line against Oregon. Franklin’s bark is worse than his bite, and his bite isn’t worth anything if he is losing to an overmatched UCLA team. It’s time to move on. Franklin should stay in California and find someone to coach there.

And Jim Knowles can join him since he just confirmed himself as a sleeper cell for Ohio State with his inability to adjust to Iamaleava’s constant scrambling. Every time UCLA needed a first down, and it didn’t matter how long the yardage was, Iamaleava would just drop back, allow Penn State to fall out of position, and rush for the necessary yardage.

TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ!@DODGERS LEAD! #NLDS pic.twitter.com/XeygIPFj4t

— MLB (@MLB) October 5, 2025

Besides that magical shot from McKenna, the other good sports thing to happen on Saturday was the Phillies blowing Game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers. After falling behind 3-0 early, Los Angeles broke through for two runs against Christopher Sanchez in the sixth and set the table against David Robertson in the seventh before Teoscar Hernandez hit a three-run blast off of Matt Strahm to put his team in front. Earlier in the day, the Brewers and Blue Jays blew out the Cubs and Yankees, respectively. The night cap featured Detroit getting a huge win in extra innings in Seattle. The Tigers have a great chance to take a 2-0 series lead with Tarik Skubal on the hill tonight.

It’s easy for college hockey to get lost in the sauce when we’re overloaded by pro football, college football, and baseball at this time of year, but I couldn’t stay away from watching Gavin McKenna make his Penn State debut last night against Arizona State. It helped that MLB was taking the night off after all of the Game 3 drama on Thursday. McKenna handed out beautiful assists on the first two Penn State goals, but the real star of the game was Matt DiMarsico, who scored a natural hat trick in the third period to help bring the Nittany Lions back from a 3-2 deficit. DiMarsico slammed in the equalizer just over a minute into the final period and then gave Penn State the lead seven minutes later when he capitalized on a lovely feed from Charlie Cerrato, who led everyone with five points on the night. DiMarsico finished the hat trick with an empty-net goal after Cerrato gave the Lions a two-goal lead by scoring off his own rebound with two minutes remaining.

This line, man!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/lScahM9Ke8

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 4, 2025

McKenna might be the reason why Penn State’s two-game set at Arizona State is being shown on NHL Network, but the depth of scorers on this team will be the reason it contends for a national championship. Penn State goes for the sweep in Tempe tonight at 8:00 PM, but this time in will be in the middle of a loaded sports slate since Dodgers vs. Phillies should be wrapping up Game 1 of their series during that time while Miami and Florida State will just be getting started in their ACC showdown.

Fortunately for someone like me who wants to watch the college hockey, there’s not an extreme amount of action going on in college football’s prime time space. NBC has Minnesota visiting a heavily favored Ohio State and ESPN has Texas Tech visiting a Houston team that barely survived a trip to Corvallis last week.

The two most intriguing college football games of the day are in the 3:30 PM time slot with Vanderbilt visiting Alabama and Texas visiting Florida. In the former, we get to see how Kalen DeBoer’s team responds to its shocking upset at the hands of the Commodores from last year. Vanderbilt is undefeated with a big win at South Carolina, and Diego Pavis could get some serious Heisman Trophy buzz if he leads his team to another big upset over Alabama. Meanwhile, DeBoer cooled his hot seat a little by defeating Georgia last week, but he could get run out of town if he drops this one at home.

The Texas game is all about Arch Manning. He was awful in the opener at Ohio State and has only played three cupcakes since then. This is another major test for him against a Florida team that has already lost three games, albeit against stiff competition. If Florida quarterback DJ Lagway doesn’t improve on his five-interception performance at LSU and his 61-yard dud at Miami, the Gators could be looking for a new head coach. There will also be plenty of pressure on Manning to show improvement on his first real test since the opener.

When you add in the baseball with Milwaukee and Toronto trying to prove themselves as surprise contenders against established brands as well as Seattle beginning its hunt for a first ever AL pennant, you get a sports day that is stuffed with intrigue and hopefully beers.

Cam Schlittler is this newest Yankees postseason hero after his incredibly clutch performance to shut down the Red Sox and lead the Yankees to a 4-0 victory in Game 3 of their Wild Card series. It was Schlittler’s first ever postseason start, and he hadn’t gone longer than seven innings in any major league outing before, but that didn’t stop him from pitching eight shutout innings against Boston with 12 strikeouts and no walks.

All 12 Cam Schlittler strikeouts! pic.twitter.com/Ggi5njqbCf

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 3, 2025

The Yankees scored four runs in the fourth inning when Cody Bellinger set the table with a double and Amed Rosario, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Anthony Volpe followed with consecutive singles. The Red Sox had a chance to get a double play and stop the bleeding with two runs in, but Austin Wells’ ground ball was botched by Nathaniel Lowe and two more runs came in. That proved to be more than enough with Schlittler channeling Roger Clemens, and the Bombers cruised to a series-clinching win.

I’m happy for Yankees fans who got a huge win over their archrival, but I’m also happy for Mets fans because we still have that Offseason Champions banner that no one can ever take away. For years, we told ourselves that if we just had Yankees money bankrolling our team’s baseball operation, we too could be world champions. Now that the Mets signed Juan Soto away from the Bronx, it’s time to admit that the Yankees are just a better run organization, no matter who the owner is. Over the past few years, Yankees fans have complained endlessly about how incompetent skipper Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman are, but they still took their team to 94 wins and a Wild Card series victory in the season after losing Soto.

It’s not like Soto had a bad year for the Mets. Far from it. But he’s still only one man. The fate of the Mets and Yankees this year is another example of how depth is more important in baseball than any other sport. At the start of the season, it looked like the Mets had starting pitching depth, but it melted away over the summer like a popsicle while the Yankees still had Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, and Schlittler to rely on.

In other Wild Card elimination action, the Tigers got a huge tiebreaking home run from Dillon Dingler and rallied for four runs in the seventh inning to post a 6-3 victory at Cleveland and effectively erase their epic regular season collapse. I always thought that the Mets were destined to lose their 2022 Wild Card series to the Padres because of the way they fell apart in September and fumbled away the NL East title. It turns out that a little grit can reverse a team’s fortune very quickly in the Postseason. You have to give A.J. Hinch credit for not allowing his team to wallow in misery following a very disappointing September. The Tigers grinded out two wins in three days and have retaken their spot in the ALDS.

The Cubs didn’t have much of a chance to win their division this season, but they are also headed to a Division Series thanks to another low-scoring win over the Padres. Chicago loaded the bases in the second inning off of San Diego starter Yu Darvish and got a Pete Crow-Armstrong single and a Dansby Swanson walk to plate a pair of runs. The Padres put the tying run in scoring position in the fifth when Freddy Fermin doubled off of Danny Palencia, but Fernando Tatis Jr. harmlessly flew out to right, allowing the Chicago bullpen to flourish in a series that has been a battle of magnificent bullpens.

San Diego threated again in the ninth with Brad Keller allowing a solo shot to Jackson Merrill and then hitting both Ryan O’Hearn and Bryce Johnson with pitches, but Andrew Kittredge ended the threat to send the Cubs to Milwaukee for an NLDS battle with the little brother Brewers. Just like with Cleveland this year and Philadelphia last year, the division champ has most of the pressure in a series like this. Milwaukee was the better team all season, but that doesn’t matter much if it loses three games to Chicago. It will be fun to see if the champs can prove themselves in head-to-head baseball combat.

As if three do-or-die baseball games weren’t enough, there was also a thrilling NFL game on Thursday night, and it drove me insane. I had the Rams in my survivor pools and to cover the spread in pick ’em. That turned out to be a massive failure even though Los Angeles stormed back from a 20-7 third-quarter deficit and tied the score early in the fourth. It should have been a one-point lead for the Rams over the 49ers, but Josh Karty had his extra point blocked after Matthew Stafford found Kyren Williams for the eight-yard equalizing score.

Still, the Rams had all the momentum and the superior players. Surely they would find a way to pull this one out at home? Nope. Their defense stopped San Francisco on the Los Angeles 41-yard line, but Eddy Pineiro connected on a 59-yard field goal because no one ever misses a kick that long when I need them to. The Rams had three minutes to come back, and it looked like a certainty when they marched down to the three-yard line without even facing a second down, but Williams had the ball punched from his grasp by Alfred Collins as he plowed towards the end zone, and Collins fell on the ball as well for a game-changing turnover.

It would have been heartbreaking enough if that was the end of the game, but the Rams teased us again by stuffing the 49ers for a three-and-out while using three timeouts to keep 53 seconds on the clock. After a San Francisco punt to midfield, Stafford’s clutch pass to Williams on 4th and 3 set up Karty for the game-tying field goal that sent the game to overtime.

49ERS GET THE STOP! 49ERS WIN! pic.twitter.com/zw5Hvr25NS

— NFL (@NFL) October 3, 2025

The 49ers got the ball first and their offense was looking hot until the Rams finally sacked Mac Jones for the first time all game. Pineiro was good from 41 yards to give San Francisco the lead, but the Rams once again put themselves in position for the win when Stafford hit Tutu Atwell for 38 yards to the 20-yard line. Three plays later, though, Williams was stuffed on 4th and 1 to end the game. Going for the first down was the right move, as a field goal would have almost certainly led to a tie or loss for the Rams. It just sucked to see Williams, who had 131 yards and a pair of receiving touchdowns on the night, come up short in another huge spot.

I went 8-8 in Week 4 to maintain my .500 record, but would you look at that? I’m not alone in last place anymore! Thanks to my brilliant island picks of the Saints, Giants, and HOW BOUT DEM COWBOYS, I made up ground on everyone except Abe, who I’m pretty sure is telepathically linked to Stu Feiner. Unfortunately, I also went to an island for the Bengals, and they were embarrassed for the second straight week.

It might be impossible to catch up to The Source, but we’ve got Tank in our sights for Week 5!

49ers at Rams -5.5

I thought this would be a bounce-back season for the 49ers, but I’m backing off of them a little after that loss to Jacksonville. It also makes sense to pick against them because Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall, and Jauan Jennings are all missing this one due to injury. Who is Mac Jones going to throw the ball to? Probably Los Angeles defensive backs. Ram It!

Vikings at Browns (London) +3.5

I’m just calling all of the international games London games because if you’re not in the stadium, do you really care where this game is being played? Ireland, Munich, and even Brazil are all London to me. The Browns have been blown out in two tough road games (the Ravens are still a tough road game even though they are 1-3) while playing better at home. I’m hoping that London feels more like home than a neutral site even though the Vikings have been hanging out over there since their comeback against Pittsburgh fell short.

Raiders at Colts -6.5

The Colts might not be undefeated anymore after they let last week’s game at Los Angeles get away, but that defeat didn’t shake the feeling that Indianapolis is a playoff contender. Just think of how hyped we’d be for this team if Ha Shem Mitchell didn’t celebrate too early on his way to the end zone. The Raiders, meanwhile, can’t decide if they are incompetent or merely mediocre. Either way I think they could get smashed by the Colts on Sunday.

Giants +1.5 at Saints

This is a chalky homer underdog pick after the Giants shocked the Chargers last week. The Saints were competitive in two home games before getting blasted on the road at Seattle and Buffalo. Still, New Orleans is 0-4 while Jaxson Dart has shown that he can close out a game against a decent opponent. Give me Big Blue in a sweat.

Cowboys -2.5 at Jets

Dallas has scored 80 points in its two home games and just 34 points in its two road games. It’s not hard to imagine Justin Fields making a couple of big plays and leading the Jets to an upset win, but I like that the Cowboys are playing on artificial turf against a defense that has allowed at least 27 points in every game.

Broncos at Eagles -4.5

I’m done picking against the Eagles. Maybe they will finally lose if I pick them. If the Rams couldn’t cover against them with a 19-point lead, who can?

Dolphins +1.5 at Panthers

It’s scary because Carolina’s 30-0 demolition of Atlanta came in the Panthers’ only home game. Both of these teams have been lousy on the road, but Miami has looked a lot better since its Week 1 clunker. Carolina SHOULD be able to handle the Dolphins, but I’m rolling with the theory that Tyreek Hill was a clubhouse cancer.

Texans at Ravens -3.5

I don’t think the Ravens stink. Their schedule has just been brutal. They blew out Cleveland and may do the same to Houston.

Titans +7.5 at Cardinals

Every Arizona game has been a one-score game. Tennessee has lost by multiple scores for three straight weeks. Something has to give and I don’t think Arizona is capable of blowing anyone out.

Buccaneers +3.5 at Seattle

Seattle has looked solid since its opening loss to San Francisco, but the Buccaneers are a step up in competition. Tampa Bay is in a close game every week, so getting a field goal plus the hook feels good.

Lions -10.5 at Bengals

This is chalk. The Lions have been a total juggernaut for three straight weeks, so don’t overthink it.

Washington at Chargers -2.5

Remember, the Giants needed two interceptions returned inside the five yard line to score 21 points on the Bolts. I’m more concerned with the offense, but it should get right at home against a unit that was just shredded by Michael Penix Jr.

Patriots +7.5 at Bills

Laying a huge amount of points in the last three weeks, Buffalo is 1-2 against the spread. Drake Maye has looked like a franchise quarterback for the Patriots, and they are frisky enough to hang around with the Bills.

Chiefs at Jaguars +3.5

The Chiefs look like they are all the way back after stomping Baltimore and the Jaguars are 3-1 against mediocre competition. This feels like a game that makes money for the books with everyone in the public taking Kansas City.

Man, we were sooooo close to getting the Yankees eliminated from the 2025 MLB Postseason in just two games, but we will have to wait at least one more night for Yankees fans to once again realize that we’re not in the 1990s anymore. Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are not walking through that door, but on Wednesday night Austin Wells did walk through that door. He hooked a Garrett Whitlock changeup down the right field line to score Jazz Chisholm all the way from first base and break a 3-3 tie. David Bednar pitched a one-two-three ninth to earn the save and schedule a sure-to-be dramatic Game 3 for the evening after Yom Kippur.

IT WAS FAIR, I WAS THERE
I REMEMBER IT ALL TOO WELLS#POSTSEASON pic.twitter.com/GJlqcFb0cz

— MLB (@MLB) October 2, 2025

Up until that RBI by Wells, the Red Sox had an answer to everything the Yankees were doing. New York got on the board first with a Ben Rice two-run dinger in the first that came on the first Postseason pitch that he ever faced. Trevor Story responded to that with a two-RBI single with the bases loaded in the third, and he also canceled out Aaron Judge’s fifth-inning RBI single with a solo shot in the very next frame. Story came up with the bases loaded and two outs again in the seventh, but his 102 mph line drive was tracked down by Trent Grisham in center field to keep the score tied 3-3. Just one batter earlier, Chisholm made a diving stop to keep Masataka Yoshida’s single on the infield and prevent Nate Eaton from scoring from second base.

The Yankees weren’t the only team on Wednesday to bounce back from a Game 1 Wild Card loss. The Tigers and Guardians were locked in another pitcher’s duel despite Casey Mize and Tanner Bibee both leaving the game before the fifth inning ended. Detroit nearly gained the lead in the fourth when Javy Baez singled up the middle with two outs and the bases loaded, but the clutch hit merely tied the game at 1-1 because Zach McKinstry was tagged out at third base just before Dillon Dingler touched home plate with the second run.

BRAYAN ROCCHIO@CLEGUARDIANS LEAD IN THE 8TH! #POSTSEASON pic.twitter.com/CQCruErNr3

— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2025

Instead, it was Brayan Rocchio of the Guardians who broke the tie in the eight inning when he homered off of Troy Melton with one out. That solo shot ignited a five-run rally for Cleveland that was capped by a three-run bomb from Bo Naylor. Cleveland’s 6-1 victory means we’ll find out on Thursday if the Tigers will get their hearts broken again or if they’ll erase the regular season collapse and take their place in the ALDS. It is essentially a one-game playoff to decide if the Guardians’ miracle comeback to win the AL Central was legitimate.

Over in Chicago, the Padres struck back against the Cubbies with a 3-0 win in Game 2 of their series. After Chicago’s bullpen dominated in Game 1, it was San Diego’s turn to show off its sexy relief pitching. The trio of Adrian Morejon, Mason Miller, and Robert Suarez held the Cubs to just one hit after starter Dylan Cease left the game in the fourth inning. Miller was particularly filthy, as he hit 104 mph on the radar gun and struck out the first five batters that he faced.

104 MPH 🔥

Mason Miller is bringing the heat pitching on back-to-back days! #Postseason pic.twitter.com/S6TyC8G3iB

— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2025

The Padres got the only run they needed in the first inning when Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arraez singled off of Cubs opener Andrew Kittredge and both runners stole a base to set up Jackson Merrill’s sac fly. Manny Machado added a two-run home run off of Shota Imanaga in the fifth to provide a little cushion.

We finally got some champagne popping late at night when the Dodgers beat the Reds 8-4 to clinch the series in two games. Cincinnati caught a break early when Teoscar Hernandez dropped a fly ball and opened up the door for a two-RBI single by Sal Stewart, but Los Angeles would score the game’s next eight runs to take a six-run lead in the seventh on Mookie Betts’ third RBI hit of the night. Betts had a rough regular season, but he appears to be rounding into vintage form with an .899 OPS in September and six hits in two Wild Card games. Yoshinobu Yamamoto didn’t allow an earned run in six and two thirds innings, and Roki Sasaki showed off his electric stuff while dominating the ninth inning. I feel good about the Dodgers giving the Phillies a hard time in the Division Series.

The first day of the 2025 MLB Postseason is in the books, and that leaves us with four teams facing do-or-die elimination games today. Boy, did that escalate quickly. We’re only on the first day of October and already the Cinderella Guardians and powerhouse Yankees are being pushed to the brink. How did this happen?

Well, Cleveland ran into an ace at the top of his game in Tarik Skubal. The Cy Young favorite struck out 14 Guardians in seven and two thirds innings with three walks and just one run allowed when Angel Martinez raced around from second base to score on an infield single by Gabriel Arias in the fourth inning.

The @CleGuardians tie the game on a WILD play at the plate! #Postseason pic.twitter.com/c3GIZO4PnE

— MLB (@MLB) September 30, 2025

Martinez’s mad dash evened the score after the Tigers used a pair of two-out hits and an error to get a run across in the first. Detroit would score the winning run in the seventh when Riley Greene led off with a double and was driven in by a safety squeeze bunt perfectly executed by Zach McKinstry. That type of play is how you win games when your ace is shoving on the mound and you know just one run can make a big difference.

That run only held up because of Will Vest getting out of trouble in the ninth, though. Jose Ramirez led off with a ground ball up the middle and ended up on third base when Javy Baez made a diving stop and saw his throw to first get by Spencer Torkelson at first base. However, Vest buckled down and struck out George Valera before getting a comebacker from Kyle Manzardo that got Ramirez stuck between third and home. Vest tagged out Ramirez easily, which set up the game-ending pop-up by C.J. Kayfus and a 2-1 victory for the Tigers.

Detroit might have blown the AL Central in a massive collapse, but now it is one win away from eliminating Cleveland and putting the regular season in the past. That is how quickly things can change in October. It’s a tough loss to swallow for Cleveland because zero earned runs were scored off of starter Gavin Williams. Johnathan Rodriguez booted Kerry Carpenter’s line drive single in the first, which allowed him to reach second base and score the first run of the game on Torkelson’s subsequent single. McKinstry’s RBI bunt was set up Jhonkensy Noel’s failure to get his foot on first base after a ground ball by Wenceel Perez. Because of Noel’s error, there was only one out when McKinstry stepped to the plate, which set the stage for the safety squeeze. With tighter defense, Cleveland might have won this game 1-0 and dealt another heartbreaking blow to Detroit’s world title hopes.

Back-to-back home runs by Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly in the fifth inning lifted the Cubs to a 3-1 win over the Padres even though Chicago starter Matthew Boyd only lasted four and a third. A phenomenal bullpen effort led by Cubs closer Daniel Palencia closed the game with 14 straight outs to give Chicago a 1-0 series lead.

CARSON KELLY
BACK-TO-BACK@CUBS LEAD! #POSTSEASON pic.twitter.com/dmyA4CbMLU

— MLB (@MLB) September 30, 2025

San Diego should have taken advantage of the opportunities it had against Boyd earlier in the game. Back-to-back doubles by Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts put the Padres on the board in the second inning and put a runner on third with no outs due to an error by Pete Crow-Armstrong. Ryan O’Hearn had a great chance to put a crooked number on the board, but his sharp ground ball was stopped by Dansby Swanson in a diving effort to keep a second run off the board. O’Hearn had another opportunity to extend San Diego’s lead in in the fourth after a single by Bogaerts put runners on the corners with one out, but Swanson thwarted him again by running down and snagging his flare to shallow center field.

Nick Pivetta was the tough-luck loser in this one. He struck out nine Cubs with no walks in his five innings of work, but the two home runs in the fifth doomed the Padres after they missed two big chances to add to their 1-0 lead. Once they fell behind, there was nothing going against the Chicago bullpen.

That brings us to our poor, sweet Yankees and their quest for a 28th world championship. Just like San Diego, New York went up 1-0 in the second inning only to lose the game 3-1. Unlike the Padres, the Yankees were playing at home against their top rival and they had a massive opportunity to turn the game around in the ninth inning. Aroldis Chapman has had a big comeback season and returned to the elite ranks of relief pitching, but he looked quite ordinary when he took the mound to put away the Yankees last night. Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge, and Cody Bellinger all hit singles to load the bases with nobody out. Fans in the Bronx were ready to celebrate a comeback, but it was then that Chapman returned to his top form with a strikeout of Giancarlo Stanton before getting Jazz Chisholm to fly out feebly and finishing the game with a strikeout of Trent Grisham.

Yankees had the bases loaded with no outs in the 9th.

Then Aroldis Chapman retired three straight 😤 #Postseason pic.twitter.com/WbbZvSC7SM

— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2025

One more hit by the Yankees would have spoiled a brilliant performance by Boston ace Garrett Crochet, who struck out 11 batters with zero walks in his seven and two thirds innings. The only run scored off of Crochet was Anthony Volpe’s opposite field solo shot in the second inning. Boston didn’t have an answer until the seventh inning thanks to some great pitching by Max Fried. The southpaw was rolling along until Aaron Boone lifted him at 102 pitches with one out and nobody on base. The Red Sox immediately rallied off of Luke Weaver with Ceddanne Rafaela walking and moving to third on a double by Nick Sogard. Both guys came home on a clutch pinch-hit single by Masataka Yoshida, and that gave Boston all the runs it needed to win the game.

The difference in this game was pretty simple. Boston manager Alex Cora allowed his left-handed ace to throw 117 pitches and not relinquish the ball until it was time for the closer to take over. Yankees skipper Aaron Boone was still worried about pitch counts in the most crucial game of the season. Fried didn’t begin to struggle on the mound to prompt Boone to replace him. He merely hit a pitch threshold and Boone couldn’t bring himself to buck the analytics.

Analytics didn’t come into play much during the Dodgers’ 10-5 stomping of the Reds on Tuesday night. Los Angeles scored five runs in three innings off of Cincinnati ace Hunter Greene thanks to home runs from Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez, and Tommy Edman. The Dodgers would go up 7-0 after six innings before Alex Vesia and Edgardo Henriquez spearheaded a bullpen meltdown that led to the Reds loading the bases in the eighth and putting the tying run on deck before Jack Dreyer finally put out the fire.

Teoscar Hernández sends a three-run homer into the bleachers! #Postseason pic.twitter.com/Uh8cgpoXRH

— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2025

As a Mets fan, I have no interest in seeing a magical run by the Reds, so it was great to see the Dodgers take care of business in Game 1. I’m expecting a similar performance on Wednesday. As for the rest of these series, I’m predicting that the Cubs finish the Padres in two games, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Guardians and Yankees bounce back and force Game 3.