The Sportsletter - Southside Slide & NFL Picks

BY JEFF YODER

SEPT. 4, 2024 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Good Morning 👋

We decided to give it one more day — just one — to let baseball, tennis, and other sports lead the newsletter before the 2024 NFL season officially takes over. It’s Chiefs-Ravens on Thursday Night Football tomorrow (8:20 pm ET, NBC), and our NFL Kickoff edition will feature football from top to bottom.

Letter Rip!

NFL

The Week 1 NFL Pick 'Em 🏈

The Sportsletter's weekly NFL Pick 'Em Contests are back! Compete against other readers to see if you can pick the most correct NFL games each week for a shot at prizes, gear, and other perks. Each week’s top-5 players will earn a “playoff bid” for a chance to compete at the end of the season and win the overall cash prize. Think you can pick like the pros? Give it 60 seconds and find out.

📝 Play The Sportsletter’s NFL Pick ‘Em (Week 1)

Week 1 Prizes: Sportsletter Gear + Sunday Newsletter Access (Prizes May Change Week-to-Week)

🏈 NFL Roster News

Check tomorrow's "NFL Kickoff" edition for season-opening power rankings, awards predictions, and more insights for the 2024 season.

MLB ⚾️

The Worst Team in MLB History?

Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images

Sorry White Sox Fans, The Southsiders Are Stumbling Toward the MLB’s All-Time Futility Record

Buckle up, Southsiders. Nobody takes pleasure in demeaning a team quite like this, but history yields for no one. The Chicago White Sox lost their 12th straight game last night via shutout from the Orioles (9-0). And while the baseball world hinges on watch parties for Aaron Judge’s home run chase or Shohei Ohtani’s 50/50 season, another watch party has emerged. The ChiSox (31-109) are quickly closing in on the record for most losses in MLB history.

2024 White Sox Losing Streaks

14 Games (May 22—June 6)
21 Games (July 10—Aug. 5)
12 Games (Aug. 23—Current)

Getting Socked — By the Numbers

Chicago is 4-41 in their last 45 games — the worst record over a 45-game in more than a century (1916 Philadelphia Athletics). They already lost a franchise record 107 games over Labor Day Weekend, and they’re currently on pace for 126 losses by season’s end. That’s six more than the post-1900 futility record held by the ’62 Mets (40-120). The White Sox would have to finish September with a winning record in their last 22 games (12-10) to avoid the futility mark. It's unlikely to happen, to say the least, so let the watch party begin.

SI: Sad Stats That Show Just How Miserable the White Sox Have Been This Season

⚾️ MLB Quick-Hitters

COLLEGE FOOTBALL 🏈

AP Poll: Week 2 🍀

Photo: Jack Gorman / Getty Images

Notre Dame Enters the Top-5, Florida State Falls Out of Top-25 (USC & Miami Surge)

After one week of college football games, the new AP Poll features nine of the same top-10 teams. Florida State (prev. #10), fell out of the top-25 altogether after their 0-2 start. Missouri jumped two spots from #11 to #9 to join the top-10 while Oregon and Michigan were shuffled down the board. The biggest winners of Week 1 were USC (#13) and Miami (#12). Both teams jumped from 19th and 23rd, respectively, into the waiting room of the top-10 thanks to big opening wins. Here's the new-look poll:

AP Poll (Top-10)

1. Georgia (1-0) | —

2. Ohio State (1-0) | —

3. Texas (1-0) | ↑1

4. Alabama (1-0) | ↑1

5. Notre Dame (1-0) | ↑2

6. Ole Miss (1-0) | —

7. Oregon (1-0) | ↓4

8. Penn State (1-0) | —

9. Missouri (1-0) | ↑2

10. Michigan (1-0) | ↓1

Full AP Top-25

B/R: Early 2024 Heisman Trophy Rankings for Week 2

US OPEN 🎾

Americans Ascending 🇺🇸

Photo: Robert Prange / Getty Images

Emma Navarro (#13), Taylor Fritz (#14) & Francis Tiafoe (#20) Advance to Semifinals of U.S. Open

The home-court advantage is alive and well in New York! Three of yesterday’s four quarterfinal matches featured Americans at the U.S. Open, and all three were victorious. No, it’s not Coco Gauff, but these American tennis stars are ready for the moment. The 23-year-old 13-seed Emma Navarro was the one to knock out Gauff, the defending champion, and Navarro put #26 Paula Badosa away fast in the women’s draw yesterday. On the men’s side, #12 Taylor Fritz upstaged #4 Alexander Zverev in four sets before #20 Francis Tiafoe outlived Grigor Dimitrov in a lengthy four-setter. Another American, #6 Jessica Pegula, is back in action today against World No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

Women’s Singles Highlights (Quarterfinals)

#2 A. Sabalenka def. #7 Q. Zheng (6-1, 6-2)

#13 E. Navarro def. #26 P. Badosa (6-2, 7-5)

Men’s Singles Highlights (Quarterfinals)

#12 T. Fritz def. #4 A. Zverev (7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6)

#20 F. Tiafoe def. #9 G. Dimitrov (6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 4-1 W/O)

Today’s Schedule (Quarterfinals)

W: #22 B Haddad Maia vs. K. Muchova (Noon ET)

W: #1 I. Swiatek vs. #6 J. Pegula (7:00 pm ET)

M: #10 A. de Minaur vs. #25 J. Draper (1:15 pm ET)

M: #1 J. Sinner vs. #5 D. Medvedev (8:15 pm ET)

*All Coverage on ESPN

WaPo: Call Her a Late Arrival, But Emma Navarro’s U.S. Open Run is Right on Time

NHL 🏒

Draisaitl's Record Deal 💰

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Oilers Make Leon Draisaitl Highest-Paid Player (Annually) in NHL History With $112 Million Contract

Hockey history was made on Tuesday when the Edmonton Oilers gave Leon Draisaitl a new 8-year, $112 million contract. That makes Draisaitl the highest-paid player (annual salary) in NHL history at $14 million per year, surpassing Toronto’s deal with Auston Matthews ($13.25 million). It’s still less overall than Alex Ovechkin’s $124 million deal back in 2008. And while Draisaitl is sometimes overshadowed by his running mate in Edmonton, the five-time all-star is coming off his third-straight season with 100-plus points and more than 40 goals.

Extension 1 of 2?

With Draisaitl now secured through 2033, Oilers’ teammate Connor McDavid is certainly next in line for a record-breaking deal. McDavid’s contract ends after the 2025-26 season. Fans were torn over the meaning of Tuesday’s news. Will the Oilers pay up for McDavid in 2026? Or does this signal a financial break-point for the franchise? Edmonton finished runner-up by one goal in the Stanley Cup Finals this year, losing Game 7 to the Florida Panthers (2-1).

The Athletic: How Leon Draisaitl’s Signing Extends Oilers’ Stanley Cup Window

STORYLINES

⚽️ USMNT Transfer Grades

Last season, just about every key player on the U.S. men's national team switched club teams. Pulisic, McKennie, Adams, Weah, Turner, Balogun, and Dest all made moves. (ESPN+)

🏈 NFL Rookie Rankings

Can anyone best Caleb Williams? Which pass rusher has the edge? Here are the rankings for the top-five picks for offensive and defensive rookie of the year in the NFL. (CBS Sports)

🏁 NASCAR Playoff Rankings

The final 10 races of the season will mean a little more for the remaining drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Each round gets more intense. Let’s rank the field of 16. (FOX Sports)

NEWS 📰

🏀 Caitlin Clark & Indiana Fever Secure Expected WNBA Playoff Bid on Off Day (ESPN)

⚾️ Shohei Ohtani Gets Mixed Reception From Fans in Return to Angel Stadium (SI)

🏈 Ravens’ DT Justin Madubuike Changes Back to Birth Name ‘Nnamdi’ for 2024 Season (CBS Sports)

🏒 GoFundMe Page Benefiting Pregnant Wife of Matthew Gaudreau Raises Over $500K (Yahoo! Sports)

🥊 Naoya Inoue Retains Featherweight Boxing Title With 7th-Round TKO Over TJ Doheny in Tokyo (ESPN)

🏀 Paul George Calls Out Anthony Edwards’ ‘Disrespectful’ Take on Michael Jordan’s Era (B/R)