The Sportsletter - Three Times The Charm

BY MATTHEW CAHILL

AUG. 29, 2022  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  REFER  |  WEB VIEW

Welcome Back 👋

Happy Monday fellow sports fans. As we prepare for the official return of college football this coming weekend, we had a nice variety of dominant performances, collapses, and upsets this past weekend. 

Letter Rip!

PGA

Three Times the Charm

Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

Rory McIlroy (-21) Completes Comeback to win Tour Championship

What a week for Rory McIlroy! Just a few days removed from receiving a subpoena regarding his involvement in a recent PGA players-only meeting, McIlroy ended his Sunday taking home his third FedEx Cup trophy, winning the massive $18 million purse.

Scottie Scheffler headed into the final round with a six-stroke lead, but had a shaky performance to say the least, shooting a 73 on the day. This left the door open for somebody to take advantage, and McIlroy pounced on the opportunity, as he shot four under (66) to out-duel the top-ranked golfer in the world. The six-stroke comeback in the final round is tied for the largest in PGA tour history.

Final Leaderboard

R. McIlroy (-21)

S. Im (-20)

S. Scheffler (-20)

X. Schauffele (-18)

M. Homa (-17)

J. Thomas (-17)

S. Straka (-16)

Full Leaderboard

Watch: FedEx Cup Final Round Highlights

Additional Storylines

Golf Magazine: Here’s the eye-popping Money Each Player Made at the Tour Championship

Yahoo!: Rory McIlroy: Scottie Scheffler to be PGA Tour POY, 'no doubt about that'

CFB

As Hot As A Seat Can Get

Photo: Brendan Moran / Getty Images

Northwestern Shocks Nebraska, Pulls off Comeback for Upset Victory (31-28)

While the slate of games for College Football’s ‘Week 0’ was nothing extravagant, it did give us the first major upset of the season as Northwestern took down Nebraska on Saturday. After Anthony Grant scored on a 46-yard run to put Nebraska up 28-17 midway through the third quarter, head coach Scott Frost attempted to go for the kill and elected to attempt an onside kick. Northwestern recovered the kick and then rattled off 14 straight points to steal a victory.

The decision to attempt an onside kick was truly puzzling, and puts Scott Frost firmly in the hot seat after his team’s first game. During his time as head coach at Nebraska, Frost’s Cornhuskers are now an abysmal 5-21 in one-score games, with this one being one of the more gut wrenching losses. While it would have put them in a prime position to win the game if it worked, the onside kick ended up shooting Nebraska in the foot, and may play a part in Frost losing his job in the future if he doesn’t turn things around.

Watch: Nebraska vs. Northwestern Highlights

Additional Storylines

ESPN: Nebraska Football Coach Scott Frost Accepts Responsibility for Failed Onside Kick After Stunning Upset Loss to Northwestern

USA Today: College football Week 0 Winners and Losers: Scott Frost-led Nebraska is Unmitigated Disaster

WNBA

Road Dogs

Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Seattle and Connecticut Open Semifinals With Road Victories

The WNBA playoffs continued on Sunday, with the best-of-5 semifinals kicking off with a pair of thrilling games in what should be two great matchups.

Game 1: #4 Storm def. #1 Aces (76-73)

Seattle started the series off swinging, jumping out to an early 15-4 lead and remained in control of the game through the first three quarters. Chelsea Gray (21 points) and the Aces ended up clawing their way back and found themselves with the lead down the stretch, but a pair of clutch jumpers from Jewell Loyd (26 points) resulted in a huge game one victory for the Storm.

Game 1: #3 Sun def. #2 Sky (68-63)

The Sun fended off a monster performance from Candice Parker to win a game 1 slugfest. While Parker had one of the best all-around playoff performances in WNBA history, tallying 19 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 6 blocks, the Sky shot just 35% from the field and 24% from distance. The Sun weren’t much better offensively, shooting just 37% from the field themselves, but their team defense and strong rebounding led them to victory. 

Additional Storylines 

ESPN: Short-handed Seattle Storm Lean on Stars to Lift Them Past top-seeded Las Vegas Aces in WNBA Semifinals Opener

CBS: Connecticut Uses Defense and Physicality to Pull off Upset Win

LLWS

Hawaii Takes Home the Chip

Photo: Joshua Bessex / Getty Images

Hawaii Finishes Dominant World Series Run With Another Beatdown

While we saw upsets in golf, college football, and the WNBA this past weekend, there were no upsets to be found in the Little League World Series Championship, as Hawaii took down Curaçao 13-3 to win the state’s fourth title. Curaçao jumped out to an early one run lead in the top of the first, but back-to-back homers by Hawaii quickly weathered the storm in the bottom of the inning. A seven-run third inning then blew the game wide open, and Hawaii eventually ended up winning in just four innings due to the ten-run mercy rule. The championship caps off one of the most dominant runs we’ve ever seen at Williamsport, as the kids from Honolulu went a perfect 6-0, outscoring opponents 60-5 along the way. 

Watch: Curacao vs Hawaii Championship Game highlights 

Additional Storyline

SI: Hawaii Smashes Curaçao, Wins Little League World Series Title

📰 THE HEADLINES

• Bills Release Punter Matt Araiza After Rape Lawsuit (ESPN)
• 1952 Mickey Mantle Card Shatters Record With $12.6 Million at Auction (SI)
• Danilo Gallinari Suffers ‘Serious’ Knee Injury After Signing With Celtics (Yahoo! Sports)
• Tom Brady Explains 11-Day Absence From Buccaneers (CBS Sports)
• Michigan to Start Two Different Quarterbacks in Weeks 1 & 2 (USA Today)

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