The Sportsletter - Sports Candy 🎃

BY JEFF YODER

OCT. 31, 2022  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  REFER  |  WEB VIEW

Welcome Back 👋

And Happy Halloween. It's spooky hours in the sports world. We gathered a lot of sports candy from our treat-filled weekend. Let's end the October sports blitz with a bang.

Letter Rip!

NFL

Week 8 Top Performers

Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images

New York Streaks Snapped (Jets & Giants), 2 Rookie QBs Make Debuts & Eagles Stay Perfect (7-0)

Week 8 coming in hot! Sunday in the NFL saw a number of storylines on Sunday. The New York teams saw their win streaks snapped as the Jets (Patriots) and Giants (Seahawks) both fell. A pair of rookie quarterbacks — Malik Willis (Titans) and Sam Ehlinger (Colts) — made their first NFL starts. The Falcons (4-4) are alone atop the NFC South despite a .500 record. The Christian McCaffrey experiment in San Francisco looks like a home run. The Cowboys (49) nearly hung a half-dollar on the Bears. And the other “top-tier” teams in the league were big winners — Eagles, Bills and Vikings. Philly (7-0) is still undefeated. Let’s do a stats and highlights download before tonight’s Monday Night Football clash for the battle of Ohio.

Week 8 Top Performers

Quarterbacks

QB T. Tagovailoa (MIA): 29/36, 401 yards, 3 TDs

QB M. Mariota (ATL): 20/28, 296 total yards, 3 TDs

QB J. Hurts (PHI): 19/28, 295 yards, 4 TDs

Running Backs

RB D. Henry (TEN): 32 carries, 219 yards, 2 TDs

RB C. McCaffrey (SF): 27 touches, 183 yards, 3 TDs

RB T. Pollard (DAL): 15 touches, 147 yards, 3 TDs

RB A. Kamara (NO): 27 touches, 156 yards, 3 TDs

RB D. Foreman (CAR): 26 carries, 118 yards, 3 TDs

Receivers

WR A. Brown (PHI): 6 receptions, 156 yards, 3 TDs

WR D. Hopkins (ARI): 12 receptions, 159 yards, 1 TD

WR J. Waddle (MIA): 8 receptions, 106 yards, 2 TDs

All Week 8 Scores & Highlights

Broncos def. Jaguars (21-17) | Falcons def. Panthers (37-34) | Cowboys def. Bears (49-29) | Dolphins def. Lions (31-27) | Vikings def. Cardinals (34-26) | Saints def. Raiders (24-0) | Patriots def. Jets (22-17) | Eagles def. Steelers (35-13) | Titans def. Texans (17-10) | Commanders def. Colts (17-16) | 49ers def. Rams (31-14) | Seahawks def. Giants (27-13) | Bills def. Packers (27-17) | Ravens def. Bucs (27-22)

Updated NFL Standings

Tonight’s Schedule

Bengals at Browns (8:15 pm ET)

Additional Storylines

ESPN: NFL Week 8 Takeaways: Lessons & Big Questions for Every Game

B/R: Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick Passes George Halas for 2nd in All-Time Wins

CBS Sports: Week 8 Overreactions & Reality Checks: Falcons Best in NFC South? Seahawks Top in NFC West?

MLB PLAYOFFS

Framber's Fire Evens World Series

Photo: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images

Astros Use Hot Start, Framber Valdez Gem to Even World Series at 1-1

We’re all square in the Fall Classic! The Phillies shocked the Astros in Game 1 with an extra-inning home run, but Houston came out swinging in Game 2 to even things up. The World Series shifts to Philadelphia for Games 3 tonight. Here’s how Games 1 and 2 played out.

Gm 1: Phillies def. Astros (6-5, 10 Innings)

The Astros started the World Series blazing hot with five runs in the first three innings, including two home runs from Kyle Tucker, but Philly answered with five of their own in the 4th and 5th frames. A stalement ensued through the late innings to force extras in Game 1, but J.T. Realmuto’s clutch home run in the 10th broke the tie. The 6-seed Phillies swiped Game 1 to hand the Astros their first loss of the postseason.

Gm 2: Astros def. Phillies (5-2)

The Astros didn’t waste time bouncing back on Saturday night, hitting three doubles in the first four pitches from Phillies’ ace Zack Wheeler. Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena and Yordan Alvarez sparked a three-run 1st inning. Alex Bregman smacked a two-run homer in the 5th to give the ‘Stros a 5-0 advantage before giving up two runs down the stretch. Framber Valdez was magnificent on the mound with nine strikeouts and just one earned run on six-plus innings. It’s all even before tonight’s Game 3 in Philadelphia.

Tonight’s Schedule

Gm 3: Astros at Phillies (8:00 pm ET)

N. Syndergaard (PHI)  vs. L. McCullers Jr. (HOU)

Additional Storylines

MLB: 5 Storylines to Watch in Game 3

CBS Sports: Unsung Astros Ace Framber Valdez Puts Houston on His Back in Game 2

ESPN: Biggest Surprise? What Comes Next? What We’ve Learned About Astros-Phillies World Series So Far

CFB

Vols Climb the Polls

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Tennessee Takes Over as College Football World Prepares for 1st CFP Rankings

Week 9 in college football featured just one top-10 upset (#9 Oklahoma State), and it was a blowout at the hands of Kansas State (48-0). That will effectively end the Cowboys’ playoff hopes. Elsewhere, the top teams in the nation escaped Saturday unscathed with No. 3 Tennessee continuing their storybook season. The Vols hammered No. 19 Kentucky is an SEC rivalry clash that sets the stage for next week’s showdown with No. 1 Georgia. In the process, Tennessee climbed into a tie with Ohio State for the No. 2 spot. There was little movement in the top-10, and we’ll get our first look at the CFP Rankings when the first reveal is announced on Tuesday.

Top-10 Highlights

#1 Georgia def. Florida (42-20)

#2 Ohio State def. #13 Penn State (44-31)

#3 Tennessee def. #19 Kentucky (44-6)

#4 Michigan def. Michigan State (29-7)

#7 TCU def. West Virginia (41-31)

#8 Oregon def. California (42-24)

#22 Kansas State def. #9 Oklahoma State (48-0)

#10 USC def. Arizona (45-37)

Other Notable Highlights

Louisville def. #11 Wake Forest (48-21)

Notre Dame def. #16 Syracuse (41-24)

UCF def. #20 Cincinnati (25-21)

AP Top-10

1. Georgia (8-0) | —

T2. Ohio State (8-0) | —

T2. Tennessee (8-0) | ↑1

4. Michigan (8-0) | —

5. Clemson (8-0) | —

6. Alabama (7-1) | —

7. TCU (8-0) | —

8. Oregon (7-1) | —

9. USC (7-1) | ↑1

10. UCLA (7-1) | ↑2

Full AP Top-25

Additional Storylines

USA Today: Michigan & Michigan State Players Brawl in Big House Tunnel

Yahoo! Sports: Georgia’s Brock Bowers Makes Incredible Catch-of-the-Year After Multiple Deflections

SOCCER

Portland Wins 3rd NWSL Title

Photo: Brad Smith / Getty Images

Portland Thorns Win NWSL Title; LAFC & Philadelphia Union Reach MLS Finals & More

A busy weekend of soccer across the globe means we’re packing it all into one section. The Portland Thorns were crowned NWSL champions. The MLS final is now set. And a number of big matches and upsets in the Premier League were worth a mention. Here’s a nod to the world’s game before November’s MLS Cup Final and the World Cup.

Portland Thorns Win NWSL Championship

The NWSL finale pitted Portland Thorns and Kansas City Current on Saturday with the title on the line, and it didn’t take long for Portland to strike. League MVP Sophia Smith scored just four minutes in, and an Addisyn Merrick own goal in the second half sealed the win (2-0). It’s the franchise’s third NWSL Championship (2013 & 2017).

MLS: LAFC & Philadelphia Union Advance

Both 1-seeds advanced with three-goal scoring sprees in the MLS Cup conference finals over the weekend. LAFC buried Austin (3-0) to win the west and reach their first MLS Cup final. New York City FC got the first goal on Philadelphia to put the Union in panic mode, but they rallied with three second-half goals despite being out-possessed (65-35). It’s a clash of the two best teams in the land next Saturday.

LAFC def. Austin FC (3-0)

Philadelphia Union def. New York City FC (3-1)

MLS Cup Final: Saturday (4:00 pm ET)

Other Leagues

EPL: Leeds Utd. def. Liverpool (1-0)

EPL: Brighton & Hove Albion def. Chelsea (4-1)

EPL: Man. City def. Leicester City (1-0)

Additional Storylines

USA Today: Portland Thorns Become Latest NWSL Champion to Overcome Trauma

MLS: MLS Cup 2022 is Set: LAFC vs. Philadelphia Union Descend on Los Angeles

🎥 OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

🏀 NBA Top Performers

T. Maxey (PHI): 44 Points

L. Doncic (DAL): 44 Points

T. Young (ATL): 42 Points

C. LeVert & D. Mitchell (CLE): 82 Points

🏒 NHL Top Performers

C. Dvorak (MTL): 3 Goals

D. Kuemper (WAS): 34 Saves, Shutout

📰 THE HEADLINES

• Cleveland Browns Fielding Calls for RB Kareem Hunt Trade (ESPN)
• Astros’ Martin Maldonado Banned From Using Illegal Bat Gifted by Albert Pujols (CBS Sports)
• San Antonio Spurs Release Guard Josh Primo for Allegedly Exposing Himself to Women (SI)
• Kyrie Irving Apologizes for Controversial Tweet Sharing Link to Antisemitic Film (Yahoo! Sports)
• Jake Paul Defeats Anderson Silva by Unanimous Decision in Boxing Exhibition (USA Today)

• Royals Hire Matt Quatraro as New Manager (MLB)

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