News about the realignment of the Pac-12 Conference and concerns about the early NFL playoffs
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Good morning! Wake up like the Pac-12 today.
While you were sleeping: Pac-12 back?
There may still be some life left in the Conference of Champions.
The two-team Pac-12 is eyeing Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Colorado State as expansion candidates, our Chris Vannini confirmed overnight. The current Mountain West schools are expected to apply for membership soon, joining Oregon State and Washington State in time for the 2026 school year, bringing the league within striking distance of the NCAA minimum of eight teams. An official announcement could come today, according to Vannini.
Read his full report to learn more about the staggering financial concessions this would entail, and stay tuned for more details. Continue reading:
We need to talk about it: A’ja Wilson’s subtle dominance
The list of athletes in major American sports to win three MVP awards this century isn’t particularly long, about two per sport. Aces star A’ja Wilson is almost guaranteed to join that club (she’s the -10000 favorite, according to BetMGM), and somehow it feels like we don’t talk about her enough.
Just last night, she set the WNBA season record in a win over the Fever, the Aces’ 35th game, breaking Jewell Loyd’s record from last season. “But the WNBA season was recently expanded to 40 games!” some of you might reply. Wilson would have held the record even without this expansion:
- The regular season from 2003 to 2019 consisted of 34 games. During this time, Diana Taurasi set the points record (860 points), which stood until last season. In 34 games this season, Wilson had 929 points.
- Wilson is averaging 27.3 points per game and is on pace to surpass Taurasi’s record in that category as well. The 28-year-old Wilson also has a better scoring average than Taurasi did at her age.
- Wilson also leads the league in defensive rebounds, blocks, turnover avoidance and win shares.
And this despite the fact that Las Vegas’ performance (23-13) lags behind the high expectations. Another thought: This could also be the flip side of the Caitlin Clark effect. Does Clark, who is having an incredible rookie season, overshadow Wilson’s great MVP run? That’s something we should discuss.
news
Hill calls for official to be fired
In a statement, Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill said Miami police officer Danny Torres — who arrested Hill outside Hard Rock Stadium before Sunday’s game — should be fired. He called Torres’ actions “excessive, escalatory and reckless.” Torres has been placed on administrative duties while the department conducts an investigation. All of this comes after Hill’s arrest (and subsequent body cam footage) sparked a national conversation. Read our full report.
More news
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Deshaun Watson will play against the Jaguars this weekend, less than a week after being accused of sexual assault in a new lawsuit.
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Shohei Ohtani hit his 47th home run of the season last night, a career high. Three home runs and two stolen bases in a 50-50 tie.
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NBA Players and the WNBPA executive director criticized Commissioner Cathy Engelbert for her comments earlier this week on Caitlin Clark And Angel Reese. Full context here.
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Manchester United reported a loss of £113 million ($124 million) last year despite record revenues. Phew.
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I missed this earlier this week: Kyle Larson will try to Indy 500/NASCAR next year it will be “double” again.
Numbers: What’s wrong with Joe Burrow?
Earlier this week, we introduced a clever new feature: an NFL playoff prediction simulator that goes deeper than the standard look at a team’s playoff chances. Metrics include projected record, postseason chance, Super Bowl odds and more.
From the full list I would like to highlight two teams:
- Are the Bengals already in trouble? Their playoff chances dropped from 73 percent before Week 1 to 51 percent after a bad loss to the Patriots. Yes, Cincinnati did it last year, and yes, they’re missing Tee Higgins and have a rusty Ja’Marr Chase. But Joe Burrow’s timid performance surprised me. The good news: After playing the Chiefs this week (No. 1 on the prediction list, of course), the Bengals get Washington and Carolina before returning to tough AFC games. Mike Jones says Cincinnati fans should relax on the stress front.
- The Cowboys vs. Saints duel will have a big impact this weekend. Both teams were impressive last week and Dallas currently sits at No. 4 on our prediction chart with most metrics pointing to them being an elite team. New Orleans rose from No. 16 to No. 13 after a blowout win over the Panthers. Both defenses could shine and a Saints win could be crucial for the NFC playoffs. Already playing? Cool.
I encourage you to Check out the full featurethat lets you view your own team’s advanced metrics in a clear format. We’ll be coming back to this often.
Horror season: White Sox make history
We’re starting to feel the Halloween spirit, and there’s arguably no bigger scare in sports right now than a look at the AL Central standings.
Top four teams? Wow, a classic, competitive division led by one of the most enjoyable teams in sports – fun! Fifth team:
Yes, that is a profit share in the two hundred, and they are fifty-one point five Playing back in the division. Boo, indeed. 🧟👻🎃
As a reminder: After we were swept off the pitch by the leading Guardians yesterday, Chicago is six defeats behind to set the season record with 15 games remaining. They haven’t won at home in a month! Normally we’d recommend you keep an eye on their next series of games, but they’re playing six games in a row against the A’s and Angels, so this might just be too cruel. (Or it might be a tiny a little hope that Chicago can avoid the record.)
In keeping with this, Zack Meisel has an article today that essentially asks, “Are White Sox fans okay?” Answer: Uh… sort of!
See and hear
📺 MLB: Red Sox at Yankees
7:15 p.m. ET on Fox
New York clings to the AL East lead while Boston clings to its wild-card hopes. After a walk-off win last night, the Red Sox are four games out of a seed entering this four-game series with 16 games to go.
📺 NFL: Bills at Dolphins
8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video
An early test in the AFC East. Both teams probably should have lost in Week 1, but found their way to wins. Josh Allen already has a shot at MVP (yes, an overreaction, but he was so good last week).
Stream games like this Here and get tickets Here.
🎧 ”The Athletic Football Show” played “Is this real?” with hosts Robert Mays and Mike Sando and assessed, among other things, the Bengals’ panic and the offenses of the Saints and Bucs.
Pulse Picks
CJ Stroud begins his second year as head of the Texan. As Zak Keefer details today, it started when Stroud ripped the entire team after last year’s Week 2 loss. That began a turnaround for the Texans that has them in full contender mode this year. Great read this morning.
The mood seems to be good again in Tuscaloosa, because Kalen DeBoer illustrated in an exclusive interview with The athleteHe knows it looks like he’s brought his old band back together, but he insists he didn’t plan it that way.
James Mirtle asked a simple question: How do you fix the The NHL boring regular season?
Brody Miller tells a funny story about a man in Mason City, Iowa, who golf Industry just because he wanted a better bag for his toddler. Now his part-time job in the garage has become a career. Read the full story here.
Most clicked in yesterday’s newsletter: The story of Jason Whittle, who can’t shake a stupid internet rumor that overshadows his good deeds.
Most read on the website yesterday: Mike Jones’ take on which 0-1 NFL teams should be worried.
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(Top Photo: Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
