Good Morning! Today is Thursday, October 9th. Here’s what happened this week in the world of sports.

MLB

YANKEES vs BLUE JAYS (TOR advances 3-1)

Aaron Judge finally had his big playoff moment on Tuesday night, turning on this impossible-to-hit fastball and clanking a three-run homer off the foul pole:

Behind Judge’s homer and an impressive comeback from 6-1 down, the Yankees won game three against Toronto… but game four was the end of the road. Vladdy Guerrero Jr. continued his hot hitting with yet another RBI early in the game and the Blue Jays bullpen completely shut down the New York lineup. Toronto won 5-2 and advanced to the ALCS for the first time since 2016.

TIGERS vs MARINERS (tied 2-2)

This series has been everything a neutral fan could hope for. After extra-innings in game one and the historic nature of game two, Tuesday night provided the fireworks. Seattle’s bats were alive and well, as the home team led the entire way and carried an 8-1 lead into the ninth. The Mariners took a 2-1 series lead by winning game three 8-4, and no one was happier than this guy:

But you can’t count out the Gritty Tigs. Detroit flipped the script in yesterday’s game four, breaking open a 3-3 tie with three homers in the late innings. The Tigers evened the series with a 9-3 victory. Even on the road, Detroit will feel pretty confident sending Tarik Skubal out to the mound to start the decider on Friday.

DODGERS vs PHILLIES (LA leads 2-1)

LA went up 2-0 in this series after a nervy 4-3 victory in Philadelphia Monday night. It was a classic postseason story; the winners came up clutch on defense and while running the bases, while every decision the losing manager made felt like it failed miserably. However, this series is far from over. The Philly bats sprung to life in last night’s game game three and very confidently won 8-2. Now the unhittable Christopher Sanchez is back on the mound today for game four, and if the series goes back to Philly? There’s so much star power on each side, anything is possible. Oh, and if you look out the window, Kyle Schwarber’s home run is finally about to land:

BREWERS vs CUBS (MIL leads 2-1)

Monday night’s game started off with a bang– for the first time in postseason history, each team hit a three-run homer in the first inning. After that, however, it was all Milwaukee. The Brewers cruised to a 7-3 win and a commanding 2-0 series lead over their division rivals. But when the series arrived at Wrigley last night, Chicago stayed alive. Michael Busch hit his third home run of the postseason and the Cubs bullpen held on for a 4-3 victory. They may be running out of pitchers, but Chicago extended the series for at least one more day.

NHL

The NHL season has officially begun, but the big story from the league this weekend happened off the ice. Connor McDavid signed a two-year, $25 million contract extension with the Edmonton Oilers. It’s a much lower price tag than expected for the best player in the world, and the deal sent ripples through the entire sport. For comparison, the Vegas Golden Knights and star forward Jack Eichel agreed to an eight-year extension yesterday for $108 million. McDavid took a team-friendly deal in order to increase his chances of finally winning a Stanley Cup: “I obviously said I was committed to winning here and I meant that when I said that, and two years makes a lot of sense. It gives us a chance to continue chasing down what we’ve been chasing down here with the core guys we have in here and we have a little bit of money to work with too. I think the deal makes sense to both sides,” he said. So after an offseason of speculation, the clock in Edmonton resets on the McDavid championship window. But if they don’t get it done in two years…

DID YOU SEE THAT?

Monday Night Football was a wild one. The Jacksonville Jaguars– who it turns out might be pretty good– staged an impressive comeback and found themselves in a close game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Jags even pulled off a 99-yard pick-six! But it was this unlikely game-winning touchdown that gets shoutout:

The Las Vegas Aces are one win away from a sweep in the WNBA Finals, thanks to this clutch performance by the MVP:

IN OTHER NEWS…

The Cincinnati Bengals have acquired QB Joe Flacco from the Cleveland Browns. Cincy hopes the veteran will be a better stopgap than Jake Browning as they wait for Joe Burrow to (hopefully) return this season.

For the first time ever, a major European soccer game will be played in the United States. In a statement, “…the UEFA Executive Committee has reluctantly taken the decision to approve,” a December 20th game between Barcelona and Villarreal to be played in Miami.

Hulu and North Carolina have scrapped their plans for a documentary about the 2025 football season. The news could be related to multiple reports that coach Bill Belichick’s foray into college football has been even worse than his 2-3 Tar Heels record shows. But that’s just what the reports say– both the university and Belichick released very confident statements in response:

THIS WEEKEND’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

THURSDAY:

• Phillies @ Dodgers, 6:08 PM on TBS

  • Christopher Sanchez vs Tyler Glasnow

• Eagles @ Giants, 8:15 PM on Prime Video

• Brewers @ Cubs, 9:08 PM on TBS

FRIDAY:

• Aces @ Mercury, 8 PM on ESPN

• Tigers @ Mariners, 8:08 PM on FS1

  • Tarik Skubal vs TBD

SATURDAY:

• (1) Ohio State @ (17) Illinois, Noon on Fox

• (8) Alabama @ (14) Missouri, Noon on ESPN

• (7) Indiana @ (3) Oregon, 3:30 PM on CBS

• (6) Oklahoma @ Texas, 3:30 PM on ABC

• Cubs @ Brewers, 4:38 PM on TBS (if necessary)

• (15) Michigan @ USC, 7:30 PM on NBC

• Dodgers @ Phillies, 8:08 PM on TBS (if necessary)

SUNDAY:

• Broncos vs Jets in London, 9:30 AM on NFL Network

• Rams @ Ravens, 1 PM on Fox

• Mercury @ Aces, 3 PM on ABC (if necessary)

• 49ers @ Buccaneers, 4:25 PM on CBS

• Lions @ Chiefs, 8:20 PM on NBC

“Start spreading the news!” –Blue Jays manager John Schneider quoted Frank Sinatra during the postgame champagne celebration. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. quoted David Ortiz…

Have a wonderful weekend! See you on Monday