Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Tuesday, October 22.

NBA

The Boston Celtics kicked off the 2024-25 NBA season with a pregame ceremony in which they received their championship rings. And when the game started against the New York Knicks, the reigning champs continued right where they left off:

• Jayson Tatum had 15 points and five assists in the first quarter as Boston jumped out to a 43-24 lead. Tatum finished the game with 37 and 10, leading the Celtics to a dominant 132-109 victory over their eastern conference rival.

• Tatum was impressive, but the Celtics made history as an entire team. Boston tied the NBA record for three pointers in a game with 29– and they may have broken the record if the Celtics hadn’t missed their final 13 attempts from behind the arc.

• For New York, the result was a clear sign that despite a strong offseason, a lot of work is still to be done. Figuring out the bench and creating chemistry among the new starting five will take the Knicks some time. One promising sign for New York’s long-term goals– Miles McBride scored 22 points on 8-10 shooting in 26 minutes off the bench.

The second game of the evening made history of a different fashion. LeBron James and his son Bronny made history as the first father-son duo to take the court together in an NBA game. They are just the second such pair to play on the same team in one of the major four sports (Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr.). No matter what you think about Bronny’s NBA potential or the LeBron James brand, this was a unique moment in sports history, unlikely to be duplicated ever again. On the court, the Lakers looked solid, taking down Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves 110-103. Anthony Davis was the difference-maker, putting up 36 points and 16 rebounds. The JJ Reddick era in Los Angeles is off to a 1-0 start.

NHL

All 32 teams were in action last night in the National Hockey League. Here’s what stood out:

• Brandon Hagel recorded a hat trick and the Lightning scored eight goals! Tampa Bay beat the New Jersey Devils 8-5 in a high-scoring affair.

• The Nashville Predators finally got their first win of the season. It was a shutout victory for goalie Juuse Saros, as the Preds beat the Boston Bruins 4-0.

• Connor McDavid had two goals and the Edmonton Oilers were leading 2-0 against the Hurricanes in the third period. But Carolina stormed back, and Sebastian Aho fired home a game-winner in overtime to win 3-2.

• The two biggest margins of victory last night belong to the Rangers and Golden Knights. New York beat the Montreal Canadiens 7-2, while Vegas crushed the LA Kings 6-1.

SOCCER

There were no shortage of awesome goals scored in the Champions League yesterday. AC Monaco’s Wilfried Singo scored a laser from way downtown and Vinicius Jr. showed once again why he may be the best player in the world on this full-field run for a hat trick. But my favorite goal of the day belongs to an American. Ladies and gentleman, Christian Pulisic:

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

It was announced late yesterday evening that Los Angeles Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela has passed away at the age of 63. “Fernandomania” swept the nation in 1981, as the 20-year old left-hander won both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards while leading LA to a World Series title. A six-time all-star over 17 MLB seasons, Valenzuela was also the Spanish broadcaster for Dodger games for the last 22 years. As MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement, “Fernando will always remain a beloved figure in Dodger history and a special source of pride for the millions of Latino fans he inspired.” You can read more about Valenzuela here.

Running back Alvin Kamara has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him on the New Orleans Saints through 2026. Drafted in 2017, Kamara has played his entire career in New Orleans.

Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball has sold in auction for $4.39 million. It’s the most expensive baseball in history, breaking the previous record held by the ball hit by Mark McGwire for his 70th homer. Naturally, there’s a lawsuit currently in litigation about who is the rightful owner of the ball, as one fan claims it was stolen from them when the ball landed in the bleachers. So yeah, not a single part of this story feels real.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

NHL: Flyers @ Capitals, 7:30 PM on TNT/Max

• Just one game on the calendar today, as Philly travels to the nation’s capital to take on the… Capitals

NBA: The NBA is officially back, with ten games tonight. Here are the ones I’ll be keeping an eye on:

• Magic @ Heat, 7:30 PM

• Bucks @ 76ers, 7:30 PM on ESPN (with no Paul George or Joel Embiid, as the Philly duo is already injured)

• Suns @ Clippers, 10 PM on ESPN

Have a great Wednesday! And enjoy this moment in history, with the great Vin Scully on the call…