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Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Thursday, October 17.

MLB

We’ve had some electric moments and all-time games this October. Game three of the ALCS between the Yankees and Guardians may go down as one of the greatest. Here’s what happened:

• The Guardians took their first lead of the series in the third inning, as Kyle Manzardo swatted a two-run homer into the right field bleachers. Cleveland would add another run, before turning the game over to their biggest strength: an otherworldly bullpen. The crowd was rocking as the Guardians carried a 3-1 lead into the eighth inning.

• Closer Emmanuel Clase came into the game with a man on first and two outs. The batter was the likely AL MVP, Aaron Judge. With one ball and two strikes, the Yankee captain connected. Against arguably the best closer in baseball, Judge tied the ballgame with an opposite field two-run homer. The very next batter, Giancarlo Stanton crushed a Clase breaking ball and made it back-to-back homers for New York. All of a sudden, the Yankees were in front. The crowd was stunned silent.

• After adding another run in the top of the inning, New York’s lead was 5-3. And that takes us to the bottom of the ninth. Two outs, runner on second, Yankee closer Luke Weaver on the mound. Rookie Jhonkensy Noel stepped up to the plate:

• An incredible swing by Noel. An incredible call by announcer Brian Anderson. And just like that, we went to extra innings. Andres Gimenez and Josh Naylor combined on a great play to hold the Yankees scoreless in the top of the 10th. That set the stage for David Fry… with two outs and a runner on third in the bottom half of the inning, Fry simply launched one. His walk-off home run not only won the game, it may have saved Cleveland’s season. The homer was a magical moment to end a spectacular baseball game. And it just so happens that 20 years ago to the day, a different David– David Ortiz– hit a walk-off home run of his own against the Yankees in the ALCS. We all remember what happened to those 2004 Red Sox…

Over in the National League, there was much less drama. The Los Angeles Dodgers are playing great baseball, and the Mets can’t seem to do much about it. Here’s how LA took control of this series in game four:

• Shohei Ohtani led things off with a solo home run. Mets rookie Mark Vientos matched him with a homer of his own in the bottom of the first, but that was about all the offense the home team could muster. Ohtani and Mookie Betts went 5-9 with two home runs, five RBI, seven runs scored, and three walks. That’s a recipe for success.

• It wasn’t just the superstars who made an impact, either. Tommy Edman had three RBIs and two doubles. Kiké Hernandez had two hits and drove in a run. And we all need to take a moment to appreciate Max Muncy, who tied the MLB record by reaching base in 12 consecutive postseason plate appearances. The final score of this one was 10-2.

• If we’ve learned anything about the Mets this season, we know they will never give up. But this series is trending in the wrong direction for New York. They’ve been outscored 29-9, slugger Pete Alonso has no RBIs and just two hits (both singles) all series, and the pitching staff has walked an astounding 31 batters. Those trends need to change quickly for the OMG Mets, as LA is just one win from reaching the World Series.

NFL

Broncos vs Saints was… an experience. Until backup QB Jake Haener threw a touchdown pass for New Orleans with 1:22 in the fourth quarter, Denver was leading 33-3!

• With rookie Spencer Rattler making his second career start, the home team lost two fumbles and punted six times. It was an ugly performance by the Saints, who have now lost five games in a row. And to make matters worse, before the game started, it was announced that wide reciever Rashid Shaheed would be out for the remainder of the season to recover from knee surgery.

• For Denver, this battle was won on the ground. Rookie QB Bo Nix scampered for 75 yards and running back Javonte Williams carried the ball for 88 yards and two touchdowns. With the win, Sean Payton and the Broncos improve to 4-3 on the season.

NHL

Another day, another chance to skate around the ice. Let’s get to some hockey highlights:

• Two teams pulled out impressive overtime wins yesterday. The St. Louis Blues beat the Buffalo Sabres 1-0 thanks to this Jake Neighbours goal. And after allowing the tying goal with just one minute left in regulation, the Vancouver Canucks recovered to take down the Florida Panthers 3-2. It was Vancouver’s first win of the season.

• On Monday, the New York Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1. The two teams took a few days off before meeting again last night– where the Rangers won again, this time by a score of 5-2.

• The Seattle Kraken scored two goals in just eight seconds! The amazing sequence was key in their 6-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

• Finally, you should prepare for a lot of Connor Bedard going forward. Just a week into the season, the second-year forward for the Chicago Blackhawks is already making mind-blowing plays like this one (plus Chicago won 4-2):

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

A shocking announcement in college basketball, as Virginia head coach Tony Bennett announced his retirement. In his 15 seasons at UVA, Bennett made the NCAA tournament ten times. The highlight of his tenure was 2019, when Virginia was dominant en route to a national championship. Throughout his time as a head coach, Bennett established himself as one of the greatest in the game. The timing of the announcement– the season starts in less than a month– is a surprise, as is the decision by a 55-year old to call it quits while leading a highly-respected program with tournament potential. Whatever the reason for his decision, congratulations to Tony Bennett on a fantastic career in college hoops. We’ll learn more about the situation at the press conference scheduled for today at 11 AM.

Clippers forward Kawhii Leonard will be out indefinitely to begin the NBA season. The oft-injured superstar is managing a knee injury. It’s a huge blow for LA, who are counting on Leonard to lead the way in their first season at the brand-new Intuit Dome.

Isiah Hartenstein was a key summer-signing for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Unfortunately, OKC will be without their new center for a few weeks, after Hartenstein injured his hand in a preseason game. Don’t worry Thunder fans– in the upcoming Remix NBA Power Rankings, your team will still be ranked near the top of the league.

Back to positive sports news, Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht had an all-time performance last night against the Suns. Knecht scored 35 points in Phoenix, including 20 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Yes, this was preseason. But it was still a remarkable effort.

Jake Oettinger has signed a new 8-year, $66 million deal with the Dallas Stars. One of the best goalies in the NHL, this deal locks in Oettinger as the netminder of the Stars through his age 33 season.

Danielle Collins has reversed her retirement decision, announcing yesterday that she will remain on the pro tennis tour for 2025. You can read more about what changed her mind at this link. 2024 was a career year on court for the American– we’re all excited to see how she plays going forward.

The Cleveland Browns announced plans to move from their Lake Erie/downtown stadium and build a new domed stadium in the suburb of Brook Park, moving out of their current location by the end of the 2028 season. We’ll see if this plan helps them win more football games.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

WNBA FINALS: Liberty @ Lynx, 8 PM on ESPN

• New York can win their first WNBA title, or Minnesota can send us to a winner-take-all game five

NCAA FOOTBALL: Two ranked teams kick off a stacked weekend of college football:

• (2) Oregon @ Purdue, 8 PM on Fox

• Oklahoma State @ (13) BYU, 10:15 PM on ESPN

MLB: Game five in the National League, followed by game four in the American League. This postseason has been so awesome– I can’t wait to see what happens next:

• Dodgers @ Mets, 5:08 PM on FS1

  • Jack Flaherty vs

• Yankees @ Guardians, 8:08 PM on TBS/Max

  • Luis Gil vs Gavin Williams

SATURDAY’S BIG GAMES

MLB: Yankees @ Guardians, 8:08 PM on TBS/Max

• Will the Yankees clinch tomorrow? Might they take a 3-2 lead? Or will Cleveland storm back and be leading?

NCAA FOOTBALL: The sports calendar has united to give us one of the greatest weekends of the entire year. And the schedule in college football is no exception:

• (6) Miami @ Louisville, Noon on ABC

• Nebraska @ (16) Indiana, Noon on Fox

• (7) Alabama @ (11) Tennessee, 3:30 PM on ABC

• (24) Michigan @ (22) Illinois, 3:30 PM on CBS

• (5) Georgia @ (1) Texas, 7:30 PM on ABC

SUNDAY’S BIG GAMES

SOCCER: Chelsea @ Liverpool, 11:30 AM on USA

• The Premier League is back from a two-week international break, and they kick things off with a clash of two heavyweights at the top of the table.

MLB: *IF NECESSARY* Mets @ Dodgers, 8:08 PM on FS1

• Game six in LA, if the Dodgers don’t take care of business in New York tonight

WNBA: *IF NECESSARY* Lynx @ Liberty, 8 PM on ESPN

• Because there just wasn’t enough going on this weekend… if Minnesota holds serve at home tonight, the series-deciding game five will take place in New York on Sunday night.

NFL: The best matchups (and Sunday Night Football) on the schedule for week seven:

• Texans @ Packers, 1 PM on CBS

• Lions @ Vikings, 1 PM on Fox

• Seahawks @ Falcons, 1 PM on Fox

• Chiefs @ 49ers, 4:25 PM on Fox

• Jets @ Steelers, 8:20 PM on NBC

And that’s a Remix! What a week of sports… see you again on Monday!