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Happy Friday the 13th!

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The GIST: And then there were four. Both the American League (AL) and National League (NL) Championship Series (CS) are set, featuring one rowdy intrastate showdown and one clash of scrappy underdogs fresh off massive upsets.

(NL) Philadelphia Phillies stun 104-win Atlanta Braves: The Phils stared straight at the best team in baseball and sent them packing, punching their second consecutive NLCS ticket with last night’s home run–filled 3–1 Game 4 win. The series MVP? Outfielder Nick Castellanos, who blasted four dingers in two games. Scooby snacks all around.

• That dub means it’ll be an all–Wild Card NLCS, with the Arizona Diamondbacks — who notched a splashy sweep of the LA Dodgers — waiting in the wings for a Monday series start.

(AL) Texas Rangers & Houston Astros meet for ALCS two-step: The yees sure will be hawin’ in this battle of explosive offenses. The defending champ ’Stros dominated their regular-season meetings 9-4, but the Rangers have only gotten better in October and haven’t lost a game this postseason. Giddy on up for Game 1 from Houston, Sunday at 8:15 p.m. ET.

The GIST: The supposed “battle of the superteams” has gone from smoldering to SMDH with the No. 1 Las Vegas Aces dominating their way to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five WNBA Finals meeting with the No. 2 NY Liberty.

The Aces crushed the Libs 104–76 in Wednesday’s Game 2, putting them just one win away from becoming the first back-to-back W champs since 2001. Who else but A’ja Wilson threw down yet another jaw-dropping performance, posting a 26-point, 15-rebound double-double and some highlight reel–worthy finishes along the way.

Now the series heads to New York, where the Libs will try to save face. No team has ever fought back from an 0-2 deficit in the WNBA Playoffs, much less in the Finals. And while the Libs’ saving grace, Jonquel Jones, has been putting on a postseason double-double clinic, the rest of the seafoamers, including league MVP Breanna Stewart, have been falling flat.

• Can NY defy the odds and force a Game 4? Or will the seemingly inevitable Aces hoist the trophy once again? Tune in Sunday at 3 p.m. ET to find out.

Sorry to Boston sports teams — the staff at Boston Children’s Hospital is the city’s real favorite squad thanks to their status as one of the nation’s top pediatric research hospitals.

• Their world-class care ranges from a specialty in rare disease treatment to groundbreaking ACL repair procedures. Talk about versatile.

Think of Boston Children’s as the GOAT of pediatric medicine that New Englanders have trusted for decades. Learn more about their progress in clinical care and research, and back a Boston team that even New Yorkers love.

The GIST: This Sunday, eight teams will battle for four remaining playoff spots in the NWSL’s first-ever Decision Day, featuring six simultaneous games, all of which come with postseason implications. It’s giving…chaotic good.

The context: The NWSL table has never been tighter, with only two teams (the Kansas City Current and the Chicago Red Stars) eliminated from postseason contention heading into the final matchday.

• Additionally, the NWSL Shield (awarded to the team with the best regular-season record) is still up for grabs, a toss-up between the perennially contending Portland Thorns and San Diego Wave FC, a club that’s only in their second season of existence.

• The Thorns can clinch the Shield with a win over Angel City FC, while the Wave need a Thorns loss or draw, plus a W over Racing Louisville FC in order to take home the trophy.

Key matchups: Without exaggeration, every single one, so ready that RedZone to keep up with each of the concurrent 5 p.m. ET kickoffs.

• But if you have to choose just one, make it the Red Stars vs. OL Reign. Seattle currently sits in sixth — the final postseason contention spot. A loss to Chicago would mark the end of both their season and superstar forward Megan Rapinoe’s illustrious career.

⛳ PGA: Shriners Children’s Open — Today through Sunday — The Golf Channel

• After sinking her first career PGA Tour birdie in yesterday’s opening round, watch as Lexi Thompson continues to make history on the fairways as just the seventh woman to compete on the PGA circuit.

⚽ USMNT: Friendly vs. Germany — Tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET — Peacock

• Continuing their preparations for the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup, the red, white, and blue welcome the four-time world champion Germans for a friendly in Connecticut. Bring on the golazos.

🎓🏈 NCAA football: No. 10 USC vs. No. 21 Notre Dame — Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. ET — NBC

• One of the sport’s oldest and most bitter rivalries, the Irish will be Fightin’ to hand undefeated USC their first loss of the season. The Jeweled Shillelagh awaits.

🎓🏀 NCAA women’s basketball: DePaul vs. Iowa — Sunday at 3 p.m. ET — Big Ten Network

• The Iowa football stadium is about to be ballin’ for Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes’ first outdoor scrimmage in program history. The growth of women’s sports will never go out of style.

Ever heard of paraskevidekatriaphobia? It’s a fear of Friday the 13th. No need to be afraid here, though: we just want to know which athlete you think has the best superstition? Vote below or reply to this email and let us know.

Serena Williams wore the same pair of socks throughout an entire tournament.

Michael Jordan wore his blue North Carolina basketball shorts underneath his Chicago Bulls shorts during every NBA game.

Becky Sauerbrunn took a nap before every match.

Tiger Woods wore a red shirt on the Sunday of each golf tournament.