Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Tuesday, August 27.

MLB

One of my favorite parts about writing The Remix is that I don’t have to focus on the St. Louis Cardinals, who are extremely disappointing and lost again last night. Anyway, let’s get to some highlights:

• It’s not over till it’s over… Colorado was up 8-4 on the Marlins going into the ninth inning, but Miami scored five runs before the Rockies recorded an out! Jesus Sanchez drove in the winning runs on a three-run homer.

• Jarren Duran hit his 20th home run and the Boston Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 6-3. TRIVIA QUESTION: Duran is one of four players this season with 20 homers and 30 stolen bases. Can you name the other three? Check your answer at the end of today’s issue…

• The Atlanta Braves beat the Minnesota Twins 8-6 last night in ten innings. A fun game that was made even more fun when Baseball Reference discovered that the starting pitching matchup of Schwellenbach vs Woods-Richardson was the longest last-name matchup in MLB history. Baseball… you see something new every day.

TENNIS

Round one of the US Open is complete. A little less drama yesterday than Monday, but there were some notable results:

• Danielle Collins (11) was upset by fellow American Caroline Dolehide. Collins has announced her retirement at the end of this season– an unfortunate final US Open for a great competitor. American Shelby Rogers also retired after her final US Open match ended yesterday in defeat.

• Watch out for 18-year old Jakub Mensik. The Czech phenom took out 19-seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets.

• Two-time US Open champ Naomi Osaka is back in the Big Apple and into the second round for the first time since 2021. Osaka was both dominant and fashion-forward in her win over the 10-seed, Jelena Ostapenko.

• After five hours and thirty-five minutes, Dan Evans was victorious over Karen Khachanov. Are you ready to see the score from the longest US Open match of all-time? 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. Absolutely incredible.

• Finally, the biggest upset of the day belongs to Thanasi Kokkinakis. The Aussie took out 11-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

A’ja Wilson scored 42 points, the most by any player in the WNBA this season… and the Las Vegas Aces still lost 93-90 to the Dallas Wings. There might be some trouble brewing for the two-time defending champs.

One question has been on the mind of every American all summer. Finally, after much speculation and thought, we’ve got an answer: Bronny will not call LeBron “Dad” while they are on the court. Arguably the most noteworthy news ever written in this newsletter.

The New England Patriots cut QB Bailey Zappe yesterday. Of the nine quarterbacks drafted in 2022, there are now just two that remain with their original teams– TRIVIA QUESTION NUMBER TWO: Can you name them? I’ll reveal the answer at the end! Hint: they were the last QBs taken…

POWER RANKINGS

Welcome to day four of five in The Remix college football preview. So far, we’ve discussed the Big 12, the Big 10, and the ACC. If you’re following along, that leaves just one power conference left…

It’s time for the SEC. Let’s dive into some rankings:

TIER FIVE: Anything Can Happen

Probably destined for the bottom of the conference, but the beauty of college football is anything can happen. Road games and rivalries and upsets, oh my!

16. Vanderbilt

The good news for Vanderbilt is they’ve improved over the offseason. Unfortunately, Vandy was 2-11 last year, and lost every SEC game by at least 16 points.

TIER FOUR: Goal is a Bowl

A six-win season is nothing to hang your head about. Even in the new landscape of expanded playoffs, a bowl game is an accomplishment.

15. Mississippi State | 13. Arkansas | 12. South Carolina

If this were the NCAA video game, South Carolina would be ranked number one– wide receiver Nyck Harbor is an unsolvable problem for opposing defenses. In real-life however, you can’t throw the ball to the same guy every time. That’s sort of a good analogy for this tier of teams: all three are storied SEC programs with talented players on both sides of the ball. It’s just not enough when compared to the rest of the conference.

TIER THREE: If Everything Goes Right…

Due to a tough schedule or questions at key positions, the path to a conference championship is very narrow. Still, this is a tier of teams to keep an eye on…

11. Auburn | 10. Kentucky | 9. Texas A&M | 8. Oklahoma | 7. Tennessee | 6. LSU

I feel silly ranking any of these teams outside the top five in their conference– Auburn, Kentucky, and A&M will likely find themselves in the top 25 at some point this season, especially if they begin the year strong. Oklahoma debuts in the SEC with a strong defense and a talented young QB in Jackson Arnold. Tennessee has a new QB as well, as redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava leads the way for the Volunteers. And LSU expects to be in the playoff– they might be ranked sixth here, but they were ranked 13th in the country in the pre-season AP poll. Simply put, there are no easy games in the SEC this season. Tier three in the SEC means something a little different than in the other conferences.

TIER TWO: Dark Horse

There is one team in each conference I am highlighting as a Dark Horse. Under the radar for whatever reason, I like this squad to surprise some people.

5. Missouri

There’s something rumbling down in Columbia, Missouri, as the Tigers are ready to build off last year’s impressive 11-2 campaign. Mizzou has a well-rounded squad and one of the lighter schedules in the conference– of teams ranked in the top six on this list, they play just one (Alabama). Can the Tigers make the playoff? Will Luther Burden become the fifth wide receiver in history to win the Heisman? These are legit expectations for Mizzou football in the year 2024… I’m finding myself on the bandwagon.

TIER ONE: CFB Playoff Contenders

The favorites to win the conference and make the College Football Playoff

4. Ole Miss | 3. Alabama | 2. Texas | 1. Georgia

Lane Kiffin has Ole Miss ready to go, as QB Jaxon Dart has one of the best names and leads one of the best teams in the country. Alabama is Alabama– although this year, without Nick Saban. Even with a new head coach, the Crimson Tide expect to go on a deep playoff run. It’s a bit shocking to see Texas in this spot, as they play their first season in the SEC as one of the favorites. I’d argue no team in the country is under more pressure than the Longhorns this season. But once again, Georgia is the class of the SEC. The Bulldogs have a really tough schedule, but they’re also the best team so it might not really matter. Kirby Smart’s team is on a mission to win their third title in four years.

PLAY OF THE DAY

Play of the day? This might be the play of the month or the year….

Go to a dictionary. Look up the word “ridiculous”. Yep, it’s this shot.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

TENNIS: US Open round two, beginning at 11 AM on ESPN/ESPN+

• Another great day of tennis takes place in New York. Three matches stand out on today’s slate:

  • Casper Ruud (8) vs Gael Monfils

  • Matteo Berrettini vs Taylor Fritz (12)

  • Upset pick of the day: Peyton Stearns over Daria Kasatkina (12)

WNBA: Sun @ Fever, 7 PM on NBA TV

• Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever host the number two team in the league. This matchup against Connecticut will be a great test for the Fever’s playoff hopes.

MLB: Cubs @ Pirates, 12:35 PM; Orioles @ Dodgers, 10:10 PM

• Paul Skenes takes the mound in Pittsburgh right as you take your lunch break. And for a nightcap, enjoy Corbin Burnes duel Walker Buehler in LA. What a beautiful day for baseball…

MLB TRIVIA ANSWER: In addition to Duran, Jose Ramirez, Elly De La Cruz, and Shohei Ohtani have hit 20 homers and stolen 30 bases this season.

NFL TRIVIA ANSWER: Skylar Thompson (Dolphins) and Brock Purdy (49ers)

Today is a very big day… it’s draft day in year 12 of my fantasy football league! So, to everyone who’s not in our league– have a fantastic Wednesday. And if you have any advice for the 9th pick, feel free to reach out.