Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Thursday, September 12.

NFL

If you didn’t get to watch Thursday Night Football last evening… well, that’s probably ok. It wasn’t the best football game of the season, but we’ll recap it anyway:

• The night could not have gone worse for Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. His game began with three interceptions and ended with a concussion, suffered on a hard hit late in the third quarter. It’s difficult to see anyone leave the field with a serious head injury, but especially so for Tua, who contemplated retirement after a series of concussions last season.

• For the Buffalo Bills, the game was yet another dominant performance over a division opponents. Bills quarterback Josh Allen is now 7-0 on Thursdays and 12-2 against the Dolphins in his career.

• The final score was 31-10, and if you play fantasy football, you already know that Bills running back James Cook was the star of the game. The Florida native caught a touchdown pass and ran for two more, including this 49-yard scamper:

MLB

Not a lot of action yesterday in the big leagues, but there were a few notable moments you should know about:

• Kumar Rocker struck out seven in his MLB debut and the Rangers scored three runs in the 8th inning to beat the Mariners 5-4. It’s been quite a second-half tumble for Seattle, who find themselves just one game over .500.

• At 20 years old, Brewers centerfielder Jackson Chourio is the youngest player in history with 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in a season. His 20th homer of the year last night sealed a 3-0 victory for Milwaukee over the Giants.

• The New York Yankees had their second walk-off victory in as many days. Juan Soto laced a single through the middle of the infield to beat the Red Sox 2-1 in 10 innings. Aaron Judge (still cursed by Paw Patrol) went 1-4 with a single.

Football tends to dominate the landscape on weekends, but there are some massive baseball games on the schedule the next few days– I’ll highlight them below. This is your official warning that the playoff races may look very different on Monday…

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

Double-check your navigation system if you’re heading to the Jacksonville Jaguars game on Sunday. The stadium will be renamed from EverBank to TreverBank in honor of starting quarterback Trevor Lawerence. Not sure yet if this is a really cool move or an unnecessary target to put on the back of a team that does not have a strong winning history. Probably a good thing the Jags host the Browns this weekend.

The Minnesota Twins have cut their 2024 sixth round pick from the organization. Apparently catcher Derek Bender had told opposing players what pitch was coming in a single-A game that eliminated Bender’s team from postseason contention. No, this is not the story from Bull Durham, where Kevin Costner was teaching young Nuke LaLoosh a lesson. Bender had told teammates he just wanted the season to be over.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

MLB: Rangers @ Mariners, 10:10 PM

• He’s back! After a year of rehab, Jacob DeGrom makes his season debut for Texas. The reigning World Series champs are out of the playoff race this year, but a healthy DeGrom is vital for the Rangers in 2025.

NCAA: (20) Arizona @ (14) Kansas State, 8 PM on Fox

• A ranked matchup on a Friday! Get ready for a lot of points to be scored in this Big 12 battle.

WNBA: Aces @ Fever, 7:30 PM

• Wait a second, didn’t this exact matchup happen two days ago? Yes, yes it did. Now we get to watch it again!

SATURDAY’S BIG GAMES

MLB: As stated earlier, there are lot of games with playoff implications this weekend. We’ll spend Saturday with the American League:

• Red Sox @ Yankees, 1:05 PM

• Orioles @ Tigers, 6:10 PM

NCAA FOOTBALL: Only one matchup of top-25 teams on Saturday, but a couple powerhouse schools will be on upset alert. Plus, some great early season rivalries:

• (4) Alabama @ Wisconsin, Noon on Fox

• (16) LSU @ South Carolina, Noon on ABC

• (24) Boston College @ (6) Missouri, 12:45 PM on SEC Network

• (9) Oregon @ Oregon State, 3:30 PM on Fox

• West Virginia @ Pitt, 3:30 PM on ESPN2

• Washington State @ Washington, 3:30 PM on Peacock

• Colorado @ Colorado Stae, 7:30 PM on CBS

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

SUNDAY’S BIG GAMES

SOCCER: Arsenal @ Tottenham, 9 AM on USA/Peacock

• One of the greatest rivalries in England kicks off early Sunday morning. Looking to get into soccer but don’t know where to start? The North London Derby is the perfect opportunity.

MLB: Now for the National League:

• Mets @ Phillies, 1:35 PM

• Brewers @ Diamondbacks, 4:10 PM

• Dodgers @ Braves, 7:10 PM

NFL: Another full slate of football– here are the best games of the day:

• 49ers @ Vikings, 1 PM on CBS

• Buccaneers @ Lions, 1 PM on Fox

• Bengals @ Chiefs, 4:25 PM on CBS

• Bears @ Texans, 8:20 PM on NBC

“Candlesticks always make a nice gift”– Bull Durham 

See you on Monday!