Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Wednesday, October 23.

NBA

What a great night of NBA action! Here’s what stood out from around the league:

• New season, same old Steph Curry. Steph had 17 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds in just three quarters before sitting out the fourth quarter in Golden State’s blowout victory over Portland. Buddy Hield added five threes off the bench as the new-look Warriors won 139-104.

• Three other lead guards also led their teams to opening night victories. Lamelo Ball had 34 points, eight rebounds, and 11 assists in a 110-105 comeback victory for the Hornets over the Rockets. Damian Lillard made six threes and scored 30 points to lead the Bucks over the 76ers. And Hawks guard Trae Young put up 30 points with 12 assists against the Brooklyn Nets.

• Finally, the game of the night was in Los Angeles. Everyone was excited to see the Clippers open their brand new arena. With lots of flashy technology and an area behind the basket reminiscent of a college student section called “The Wall”, the Intuit Dome lived up to the hype. On the court, the Clippers and Suns played a great game of basketball. LA led 103-101, but Kevin Durant tied it with 21 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. After James Harden missed a potential game-tying free throw with 4.8 seconds in the extra period, Phoenix emerged with a victory. Check out the highlights from this star-studded affair:

NHL

Just one game last night in the NHL– the Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3. It was the fifth win in a row this year for the Caps, while the Flyers drop to 1-5-1.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Upset alert! The Kennesaw State Owls were 0-6 with zero wins against FBS teams in school history. So naturally, they took down undefeated Liberty last night 27-24. The loss knocks the Flames out of the running for a bid to the college football playoff. It’s one of the greatest upsets of the year, and just another reason to love college football. Congratulations to the Owls!

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

The Kansas City Chiefs have traded a fifth round pick for Titans receiver DeAndre Hopkins. The veteran wideout immediately slots in as the number one target for Patrick Mahomes. He’s not the same DHop that was once the league’s best receiver, but if Hopkins can play anywhere close to that level, the undefeated Chiefs may have gotten even tougher to take down.

Let’s go around the NFL for a few other midweek updates… Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey is absent from practice to attend jury duty. Despite Aubrey’s commitment to fulfilling his civic duty, he’ll still be available to kick on game day… Just weeks after he was fired, the Packers have hired former Jets head coach Robert Saleh in a “fluid” role… And Bryce Young is once again the starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. The change comes after Andy Dalton was in a minor car accident earlier this week. 

St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas will be out for at least six weeks due to a fractured ankle. The best player on his team, Thomas will be sorely missed on the ice in St. Louis.

And in other injury news, the New Orleans Pelicans will be without Dejounte Murray for an extended period of time to begin the season. Murray broke his hand during his first action with New Orleans last night.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BRACKETOLOGY

Welcome to the first edition of Remix Bracketology: Football edition. We still don’t have a clear idea of what teams will earn the right to play for a national championship. However, after eight weeks of results, we can start to narrow down the field. There’s not enough information yet for a true bracket, but there are five clear groups that can realistically claim playoff dreams:

TWO LOSS POWER FOUR TEAMS: So you’re saying there’s a chance…

Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Colorado, Arizona State, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and Alabama

These nine schools have zero margin for error. They need to win every remaining game on their schedule, and root for chaos to break out ahead of them.

ONE LOSS TEAMS: Wrong side of the Bubble

SMU, Duke, Syracuse, Illinois, Texas A&M, LSU, Tennessee, Mizzou, Kansas State, Washington State, and Notre Dame

Whether it’s overall strength of schedule or the one blemish on the record being a particularly upsetting loss, this group is on the outside looking in. Many will move up into a playoff spot, but because seven teams are in the top tier right now, there are only four one-loss spots available. I believe Washington State and Notre Dame are the only non-power four teams that could realistically earn an at-large bid, but a second loss at any point this season would completely take them out of the running.

ONE LOSS TEAMS: Right side of the Bubble

Clemson, Ohio State, Texas, and Georgia

Even with one loss, no one is doubting this group’s playoff credentials.

UNDEFEATED POWER FOUR TEAMS

Miami, Pittsburgh, BYU, Iowa State, Indiana, Penn State, and Oregon

If you win every game, you make the playoffs. Pretty straightforward.

THE GROUP OF FIVE RACE

Army, Navy, UNLV, Boise State, Louisiana, and Louisiana-Monroe

Army and Navy are undefeated, with the chance to meet in the AAC title game for a playoff spot (the historic Army-Navy rivalry game is scheduled for the week after the CFP field is announced). Mountain West leaders UNLV and Boise State each only have one loss, but they face each other tomorrow night. And if those four teams all falter, I think UL and ULM are currently the best playoff candidates from the Sun Belt.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

NCAA FOOTBALL: Syracuse @ (19) Pitt, 7:30 PM on ESPN

• Our weekend of college football begins with this ACC/former Big East rivalry game. Pitt is undefeated, while the Orange are 5-1. This should be a good one.

NBA: Four games on the hardwood this evening:

• Celtics @ Wizards, 7 PM

• Spurs @ Mavericks, 7:30 PM on TNT

• Timberwolves @ Kings, 10 PM

• Thunder @ Nuggets, 10 PM on TNT

NHL: Let’s do that hockey!

• Dallas Stars @ Boston Bruins, 7 PM

• Minnesota Wild @ Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 PM

• Florida Panthers @ New York Rangers, 7 PM

NFL: Vikings @ Rams, 8:15 PM on Amazon Prime

• The Minnesota Vikings look to rebound from their first loss of the season against the undermanned Los Angeles Rams.

And that’s a Remix! Have a great Thursday