Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Wednesday, August 28.

MLB

What a beautiful day at the ballpark… if you haven’t made your way to a game yet, the clock is ticking. You might see something amazing, like one of these highlights from yesterday:

• Paul Skenes didn’t have his best start of the year, but the Pirates held a 10-3 lead when he exited the game after five solid innings. What happened next? The Pirates bullpen imploded, as the Cubs went off for 11 runs in the final three frames. Chicago won 14-10 to sweep the three-game series.Skenes’ girlfriend, LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne, was just as surprised as the rest of us.

• Yordan Alvarez hit three home runs and Spencer Arrighetti had a no-hitter through seven innings as the Astros walloped the Phillies 10-0. Remember back at the beginning of the season when Houston was one of the worst teams in the league? It appears they figured things out.

• Speaking of slow starts, last year’s rookie of the year Corbin Carroll struggled mightily for most of this season. He now has six homers in his last 11 games, including this go-ahead grand slam last night. The Diamondbacks won a big game against the Mets 8-5.

• The Dodgers gave out bobbleheads last night of Shohei Ohtani with his dog Decoy. Decoy “threw” out the first pitch, and a couple minutes later Shohei led off the first inning with another home run. He added two more stolen bases, bringing his tally on the year to 42 of each. LA beat Baltimore 6-4, but the real winners were baseball fans and people who love dogs– in other words, everyone.

• Aaron Judge didn’t hit a home run during his trip to D.C. and the Nationals won two out of three games against the Yankees. Interesting how that works… To the Yankees’ credit, last night they pulled off one of the most unusual double plays you’ll ever see. Take a look:

TENNIS

Round two got off to a scorching hot start! Here’s what happened yesterday in New York City:

• Multiple players came back from large deficits to win matches yesterday. Andrey Rublev may have been the most impressive, playing physical tennis throughout his five-set win.

• Ben Shelton’s serve is one of the most dominant shots in the game. He won every single point on his serve in the third set of his victory over wily veteran Roberto Bautista Agut.

• Novak Djokovic is making up new records… with his win last night, he’s now the first man to win 90 matches at each of the Grand Slams. How insane is that?

• The best moment of the day was Aryna Sabalenka celebrating her win with a young fan who had dressed up like her. This moment right here is why we love sports:

And this point between Casper Ruud and Gael Monfils is the other reason we love sports:

WNBA

Upset alert! The last-place, 7-24 Los Angeles Sparks took down the first place New York Liberty by a score of 94-88. It was a rough shooting night for Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, who was 7-21 from the field, including 3-14 from three.

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever continued their winning ways with an 84-80 victory against the Connecticut Sun. The Fever move within a game of .500 on the year, and are firmly in a playoff spot. Meanwhile, Caitlin keeps rewriting the history books:

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

The New York Giants have un-retired the number 1 for rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers. Previously, New York Giants Number 1 had been the oldest retired jersey in professional football, in honor of Ray Flaherty. You might not know the name Ray Flaherty, but he invented the behind-the-line screen pass, among other football accomplishments. It may just be a jersey number, but that’s also a lot of pressure resting on the shoulders of the rookie.

POWER RANKINGS

We’ve reached the final day of The Remix college football preview. After going through all four power conferences– the SEC, the Big 12, the Big 10, and the ACC– it’s time for one final ranking…

But before we get to the list, we have to quickly highlight the eight teams (plus one) most likely to make the playoff from outside the power four. Sincere apologies to Washington State and Oregon State, but the Pac 12 didn’t quite make the cut…

8. Louisiana | 7. Texas State | 6. James Madison | 5. Appalachian State | 4. Memphis | 3. Tulane | 2. Liberty | 1. Boise State | Bonus team: Notre Dame

It’s anyone’s guess who will win the highly competitive Mountain West, American, Conference USA, or Sun Belt conferences. As it stands, however, I give a slight nod towards Boise State as the best of the bunch.

Notre Dame is unable to win a conference and secure a top four seed in the playoff, but they remain talented enough to make the playoff as an at-large team. The Fighting Irish have an experienced defense, a new transfer QB, and a fanbase that expects a win every single time they take the field. It’s the same formula every year in South Bend– will they deliver in 2024?

And now, the official Remix pre-season top 25:

25. Virginia Tech | 24. Washington | 23. Kansas | 22. NC State | 21. Boise State

20. Oklahoma | 19. Oklahoma State | 18. Florida State/Georgia Tech | 17. Kansas State | 16. USC

15. Miami | 14. Tennessee | 13. Michigan | 12. Penn State | 11. LSU

10. Missouri | 9. Clemson | 8. Notre Dame | 7. Ole Miss | 6. Alabama

5. Utah | 4. Texas | 3. Ohio State | 2. Oregon | 1. Georgia

Super excited for this to be completely wrong in two weeks… time to play some football!

PLAY OF THE DAY

The poor White Sox… just as it looks like they might win a game, Travis Jankowski comes up with the catch of the year:

Just another incredible moment this year for athletes named Travis. And thanks to White Sox fan Christian O. for sending this one in.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

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

• Some blockbuster matchups today– here are the ones you don’t want to miss:

  • Jannik Sinner (1) vs Alex Michelsen

  • Naomi Osaka vs Karolina Muchova

  • Sofia Kenin vs (6) Jessica Pegula

MLB: Braves @ Phillies, 6:40 PM

• The two division rivals go head-to-head once more. Philly has a five game lead over the Braves in the NL East– this four-game series will either end the division race or make for quite an exciting run down the stretch.

NCAA FOOTBALL: The day has arrived. 21 FBS games kick off week one of the 2024 season, starting with Howard @ Rutgers at 6 PM. Here are the four ranked teams in action on this beautiful Thursday– plus two other intriguing matchups:

• Western Carolina @ (24) NC State, 7 PM on ACC Network

• Murray State @ (11) Missouri, 8 PM on SEC Network

• Lindenwood @ (22) Kansas, 8 PM on ESPN+

• UNC @ Minnesota, 8 PM on Fox

• North Dakota State @ Colorado, 8 PM on ESPN

  • *The Remix upset pick of the day* ND State +10

• Southern Utah @ (12) Utah, 9 PM on ESPN+

“Are you not entertained?” –Russell Crowe, Gladiator