Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

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🎉 Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it. Programming note: We'll be off Monday for the holiday. See you back here bright and early Tuesday morning. In today's edition: College football's widening talent gap, Cleveland stays alive, Wilson wins fifth MVP, the Lane Johnson effect, Behind the Lens, all eyes on Tuscaloosa, NFL mock draft, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...

🏈 MIND THE GAP BASKETBALL LOST CINDERELLA. IS FOOTBALL NEXT? UMass beat Rutgers last month in a rare win for a Group of Six team over a Power Four opponent. (Ed Mulholland/Getty Images) With just three wins in 76 games against Power Four opponents this season, the Group of Six has reached a competitive low point in the modern history of college football. Has the transfer portal, combined with NIL money, killed football's Cinderella? Dan Wolken, Yahoo Sports: In 76 games played this season between the Power Four and the Group of Six, teams from the latter have won just three. But the disparity is even more jarring when you dig into the numbers. Of the 73 wins by power conference teams, 27 had a margin of five touchdowns or more. In 10 of those games, the Group of Six team didn't manage to score a single point. Ever since NIL, revenue sharing and unlimited transfers came to college sports, we have seen bits and pieces of evidence suggesting that Cinderella might be dying in football and men's basketball. On the heels of a March Madness tournament with no mid-majors in the Sweet 16 and a fairly large sample size on the gridiron this fall, it's getting harder to deny the obvious. Bottom line: The talent gap between the 68 schools playing power conference football and everyone else has widened to the point where Group of Six programs sometimes look more like a feeder system than a competitive entity. "Something I'm happy about is we got nine starters on defense who are seniors," New Mexico head coach Eck joked last month after nearly beating Oklahoma. "So all these SEC coaches will be seeing how good our defense is and they'll look up all those guys they'd like to have play for them and they're going to see they're seniors. They have no eligibility left to transfer to the SEC next year." "The power conference schools are paying backups what we're paying starters. That's a reality," said UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford. "Any time you've got guys that are all-league or putting stuff on tape consistently week in and week out, anyone who's saying that isn't in the back of their mind isn't being truthful." Keep reading: Group of 6 struggling to stay competitive as gap with Power 4 widens: 'It's only going to get harder'

📸 SNAPSHOTS PICS DU JOUR José Ramírez came up huge in Game 4. (Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images) ⚾️ Chicago, Illinois   The Guardians kept their season alive with a 9-5 victory over the White Sox, tying the series at two games apiece thanks to a six-run outburst in the sixth inning and José Ramírez (2-5, HR, 3 RBI) continuing to rediscover the MVP form that had eluded him in Games 1 and 2.   Flip the script? Cleveland is seeking to become the first team to come back from 2-0 down and win a five-game playoff series since 2017, when the Yankees did that against… the Guardians (Indians). That's a lot of trophies. (David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images) 🏀 Las Vegas, Nevada   A'ja Wilson was named WNBA MVP on Thursday for a record-extending fifth time. The Aces star received 65 of 74 first-place votes to beat out Lynx rookie Olivia Miles, Fever duo Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark, and two-time MVP Breanna Stewart.   A league of her own: Since entering the WNBA in 2018, Wilson has received more first-place MVP votes (274) than all other players combined (233). Buccaneers players celebrate after recovering a fumble in the second half. (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) 🏈 Arlington, Texas   The Buccaneers beat the Cowboys, 24-16, on "Thursday Night Football" to notch their first victory and pull off the biggest point-spread upset (+9.5) of the season so far.   Game notes: Undrafted rookie QB Jalon Daniels (19/25, 189 yds, TD) played well in his second start and Bucky Irving (165 rush yds, 2 total TD) thrashed a Dallas defense that might be even worse than last year's historically-bad unit.

🏈 IN THE TRENCHES THE LANE JOHNSON EFFECT (Michael Owens/Getty Images) The following story is written by Neil Paine, the newest addition to our Yahoo Sports newsletter team. They say you should always hire people smarter than you, and I've certainly done that here. Welcome to "Numbers with Neil." After 14 NFL seasons, six Pro Bowls, two first-team All-Pro nods and two Super Bowl rings earned while anchoring the Eagles' offensive line, legendary right tackle Lane Johnson announced his retirement Tuesday. A tale of two teams: For all his personal accolades, the best way to appreciate Johnson's greatness might be to look at what happened when he wasn't playing — what's known as the "With Or Without You" (WOWY) class of statistics. Take, for instance, the Eagles' record when he played versus when he didn't: Digging deeper: Johnson's excellence becomes even more apparent when we examine the play-by-play data over the same span as above. In plays he participated in, the Eagles gained +0.075 Expected Points Added (EPA) per play. In plays he sat, they lost -0.050 EPA per play, good for an eye-popping gap of +0.125 EPA. Since football is insanely complicated, this type of analysis can be adjusted for quality of teammates and opponents, game situations, and so forth — and it can even be tethered to broader measures of quality such as Pro Football Reference's Approximate Value (AV) as a stabilizer at baseline. If we do that, Johnson comes out around the 10th-most impactful non-QB from 2016-2025, and probably the most impactful lineman — with better pure in-game impact than David Bakhtiari and a better AV-adjusted rating than Trent Williams and Terron Armstead. Fancy numbers aside… The WOWY stat that Philadelphia fans appreciate most about Lane Johnson is very simple: Without him on the roster (1933-2012), the Eagles won zero Super Bowls. With him on the roster (2013-2026), they won two.

📸 PHOTOGRAPHY BEHIND THE LENS (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) Each week, Yahoo Sports AM goes "Behind the Lens" with Getty Images to share the stories behind the best photographs in sports. This week's photo: LeBron James poses for a portrait during Media Day ahead of his 24th NBA season, and first with the Philadelphia 76ers. Photographer: Emilee Chinn Location: Camden, New Jersey Date: Sept. 28 Behind the lens: Take it away, Emilee… Leading up to this year's 76ers Media Day, I wanted to create a unique look that was simple to execute, knowing media coverage would be heavier with the addition of LeBron James. For this portrait, I used a continuous light with a spotlight attachment aimed at the blue brick wall of the practice gym, shooting on a Canon R1 with a 50mm lens at f/4.5, ISO 320, and 1/200 shutter speed. I had just 45 seconds with LeBron across two setups — classic full-length portraits on a red seamless backdrop and this spotlight look. After quickly getting the essentials on the main set and nearly running out of time, LeBron happily agreed to one final shot. I had spent the week envisioning a portrait that captured his emotion but also added a dramatic feel, and with just one pose and one opportunity under the spotlight, I was able to achieve what I wanted.

📺 VIEWING GUIDE WEEKEND WATCHLIST (Hayden Hodge/Yahoo Sports) 🏈 College Football Saturday   All eyes will be on Tuscaloosa this weekend for a high-stakes SEC clash between No. 6 Alabama and No. 2 Georgia (7:30pm ET, ABC). Weather is expected to play a factor as Hurricane Isaias has already forced "College GameDay" to move indoors.   Best of the rest: No. 1 Texas vs. Oklahoma (3:30pm, ABC); No. 21 UCLA at No. 13 Oregon (3:30pm, CBS); No. 7 Indiana at Nebraska (12pm, Fox); Texas A&M at No. 14 Missouri (12pm, ABC); Stanford at No. 3 Notre Dame (3:30pm, NBC); No. 10 LSU at Kentucky (7pm, ESPN).   Friendly reminder: Week 6 of our College Football Challenge is live. Don't forget to make your picks before kickoff.   ⚾️ MLB Postseason   The Guardians host the White Sox in a winner-take-all Game 5 tomorrow night (8pm, TBS) for the final spot in the League Championship Series. Can Cleveland complete the unlikely comeback? Or will Chicago reach its first ALCS since 2005?   The Final Four: The NLCS between the Brewers and Dodgers begins Sunday in Milwaukee (8pm, Fox), while the ALCS begins Monday in St. Petersburg (8pm, TBS) after Game 2 of the NLCS (5pm, Fox).   🏈 NFL Sunday   The top two teams in our power rankings will take the field in Seattle, where the reigning champs host the undefeated 49ers (4:25pm, Fox). Other notable games include: Eagles vs. Jaguars in London (9:30am, NFL); Bears at Packers (1pm, Fox); Raiders at Patriots (1pm, CBS); Ravens at Falcons (8:20pm, NBC).   Looking ahead: Week 5 concludes on Monday night with the Bills visiting the Rams (8:15pm, ABC/ESPN), who will make NFL history as the first team to play four of their first five games in prime time.   🏀 WNBA Semifinals   The finalists could be determined as soon as tonight, with Atlanta and Golden State both in position to sweep on the road. First up is Dream at Liberty (7:30pm, ESPN2), followed by Valkyries at Aces (9:30pm, Peacock/NBCSN). Both Game 4s, if necessary, are on Sunday.   Uphill battle: No WNBA team has ever come back from a 2-0 deficit to win a best-of-five postseason series (0-19). But the Aces and Liberty, who have no shortage of talent or playoff experience, seem like decent candidates to end the drought.   More to watch: 🇺🇸 Friendly: USWNT vs. Spain (Sat. 2:30pm, TBS) … The world's top two women's soccer teams take the field in Washington, D.C. 🏎️ F1: Singapore (Sun. 8am, Apple) … Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas cycled 217 miles from last week's race in Malaysia to this one. Why not! 🏁 NASCAR: Charlotte (Sun. 3pm, USA) … Kyle Larson leads the way halfway through the 10-race Chase championship. ⚽️ Premier League: Arsenal vs. Leeds (Sat. 7:30am, USA); Liverpool vs. Man City (Sun. 11:30am, NBC) … Play resumes post-international break. 🏒 NHL: Rangers at Capitals (Fri. 7pm, NHL); Maple Leafs at Avalanche (Sat. 7pm, NHL) … The first-place Rangers (4-1-0) have yet to allow a first-period goal, their longest such season-opening streak since 1939. 🚴 Cycling: Il Lombardia (Sat. 4:35am, HBO Max) … The season's fifth and final Monument takes riders 149 miles from Bergamo to Como, Italy. Plus: 🎾 WTA China Open and ATP Shanghai Masters (Fri-Sun, Tennis); 🏀 NBA Preseason (Fri-Sun, NBA/ESPN); ⚽️ MLS Week 29 (Sat-Sun, Apple); 🏍️ MotoGP Indonesia (Sun. 3am, FS2)   Got plans this weekend? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city.

🔍 LET'S PLAY GUESS THE LOGO Question: Can you guess this MLB team based on the first logo it used? Hint: They made the playoffs this year. And it's probably not the team you think. Answer at the bottom.

🏈 MOCK DRAFT ANOTHER MANNING IN NEW YORK? (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports) Yahoo Sports' Nate Tice has released his first 2027 NFL Mock Draft, and it features a blockbuster trade at the top that results in Arch Manning going to the Jets. Mock Draft 1.0: Projecting all 32 first-round picks

Guess the Logo answer: Chicago White Sox. This was their first logo from 1901-02, when they were the Chicago White Stockings… which was also the original name of the Cubs (1876-87). Strange, I know.

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👋 Good morning! Happy Hump Day. In today's edition: A generation-defining rivalry, Padres survive, Dodgers seize control, EuroLeague rebuffs NBA, Djoker and Carlos win titles, baseball's haves vs. have nots, USMNT wins again, 222-0, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...

🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🏀 EuroLeague rebuffs NBA: The EuroLeague has reportedly rejected the NBA's initial offer to merge and create a single NBA Europe entity, with the offer described as "colonialist." Despite the rejection, negotiations are expected to continue as the NBA aims to launch a 16-team league across the pond as soon as 2027. 🎾 Tennis headlines: Novak Djokovic won the China Open for his 102nd career singles title; Carlos Alcaraz defended his crown at the Tokyo Open; Jannik Sinner ended his season early, meaning Alexander Zverev will become the new ATP World No. 1 (30th in history). 🏈 Eagles legend retires: Six-time Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson abruptly announced his retirement on Tuesday, ending a 14-year career spent entirely in Philadelphia. To sum up his impact: The Eagles were 122-63-1 (.659) when he played and 18-30 (.375) when he didn't. 🏀 WNBA arena upgrade: The Atlanta Dream will play home games at State Farm Arena (home of the Hawks) next season, moving from a 3,500-seat venue to an arena that holds 17,000. The Dream held six regular season games there this season, and sold out five of them. 🌀 Hurricane watch: Saturday's college football showdown between No. 2 Georgia and No. 6 Alabama in Tuscaloosa is set to proceed as scheduled — for now — as Tropical Storm Isaias approaches the Gulf Coast. But the hurricane threat is serious enough that moving the game is "clearly on the table," says Alabama's foremost meteorologist.

🏒 FACING OFF A GENERATION-DEFINING RIVALRY (Ethan Palowitz/Yahoo Sports) The Capitals' home opener tonight should be quite a spectacle after Alex Ovechkin announced Monday that this will be his final season. Fittingly, it comes against Sidney Crosby, whose decades-long rivalry with Ovi has defined hockey in the 21st century.   Parallel paths: The 41-year-old Russian and 39-year-old Canadian were picked No. 1 overall in back-to-back years, and debuted on the very same night (Oct. 5, 2005). They weren't enemies, per se (though sharing a division didn't help), but the context of their arrival didn't exactly foster friendship, either. "You come into the league at 18 years old, and before we even met, we were kinda built up against each other," Crosby said this week. "I think with how competitive we are … it would've been difficult to be too close." Ovechkin, perhaps not quite as eloquently, but no less honestly, echoed those sentiments years ago when he told longtime hockey journalist Michael Farber, "He is he. I am I." As you can see below,* both guys have compiled astronomical point totals, but they've arrived at those totals in ways befitting their style of play: Ovechkin the pure goal-scorer, Crosby more of the playmaker. "He is he. I am I," indeed. Tale of the tape: From the moment they finished 1-2 for the Calder Trophy (ROY) in 2006, "The Great 8" and "Sid the Kid" have racked up accolades matched by few in the league besides each other. In addition to winning ROY, Ovechkin has three Hart Trophies (MVP) to Crosby's two, 12 All-Star nods to Crosby's eight, and is of course the NHL's all-time leader in goals (929). Crosby holds the edge in Stanley Cups (3 to 1), points (1,763 to 1,688) and assists (1,109 to 759). And for all we know, he plans to continue playing and adding to those tallies well into his 40s. Head-to-head: They've played each other exactly 100 times entering tonight's matchup. Crosby leads the all-time series in both the regular season (43-28-4) and playoffs (13-12). Crosby and Ovechkin after the Penguins beat the Capitals in Game 7 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals. (Mitchell Layton/NHLI via Getty Images) Big picture: Ovechkin and Crosby arrived when the NHL needed them most. Ratings and quality of play were falling after Wayne Gretzky's retirement in 1999, and the nadir came when the entire 2004-05 season was lost to a lockout. "The game needed something special to come along," writes The Athletic's Josh Yohe. "That's precisely what happened." In that way, they mirrored Larry Bird and Magic Johnson a quarter-century earlier: two lightning-rod superstars who entered a struggling league together and helped mold it into something bigger and better. Ovi and Sid may never loom quite as large in broader sports history as Magic and Bird, but their shared reign has lasted longer: Here they are tonight, 22 years after arrival, still sharing the ice. Bottom line: The NHL is in far better hands now than it was two decades ago, with future Hall of Famers like Connor McDavid and phenoms like Macklin Celebrini already bending the league to their will. But we may never again see two all-time greats so completely — and simultaneously — define an entire era. *Neil Paine officially joined us on Monday and he's already contributing beautiful charts. Expect to see a lot more data visualizations now that he's on the team. We'll more formally introduce Neil soon.

⚾️ THE GOLDEN STATE NLDS: PADRES SURVIVE, DODGERS REBOUND (Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) Padres 4, Brewers 3 — Facing a sweep after a deeply frustrating pair of games in Milwaukee, the Padres pulled out all the stops to keep their season alive in front of a raucous home crowd, who will be back for more tonight. As for the Brewers, they've now lost 12 straight road postseason games, extending an MLB record. Next man up: With All-Star closer Mason Miller unavailable due to the birth of his first child, Game 2 starter Michael King entered in relief and delivered a six-out save on two days' rest. Here's the double play that sealed it. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) Dodgers 3, Braves 1 — The reigning champs seized control of the series in Atlanta thanks to yet another playoff gem from Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 10 K, BB), whose 2.14 career postseason ERA is the second-lowest in MLB history among pitchers with at least 10 starts, trailing only Madison Bumgarner's 2.11. Señor Octubre: Dodgers cult hero Kiké Hernández hit a two-run blast in the fourth, giving him 17 postseason homers (out of 151 total). In other words: More than 10% of his career home runs have come in the playoffs, which is something no other player with at least 100 HR can say. Reggie Jackson would be proud.

⚾️ MONEYBALL BASEBALL'S HAVES VS. HAVE NOTS (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) In sports, there's always a game within the game. MLB's Division Series is no different; the subtext is the battle between the league's huge payrolls and its frugal underdogs. The results could shape the ongoing labor war. Tale of the tape: The National League field is more financially robust, with three of the four remaining teams ranking among MLB's top 10 tax payrolls. The American League, however, features a $229 million payroll divide between the Yankees and Rays. The other matchup pits the 26th-ranked White Sox against the 29th-ranked Guardians. Wild stat: The combined tax payroll of the Brewers, White Sox, Rays and Guardians is only $45 million higher than the Dodgers' alone. Battle lines drawn: Ownership's party line in the labor battle focuses on restoring competitive parity, framing their push for a salary cap as a rallying cry for the small market fan who doesn't believe their team can win. The composition of the remaining postseason contenders spits in the face of that argument. Four Division Series participants rank in the bottom half of the league's payrolls. Three are in the bottom five. Counterpoint: As Billy Beane's "Moneyball" character surmises, "If you lose the last game of the season, nobody gives a sh*t." He wasn't wrong. A small-market team hasn't won it all since the Royals in 2015, and that's no small part of the competitive balance argument. Food for thought: Both camps have reasonable questions worth asking to frame the conversation. If teams like the Rays so consistently achieve more with less than their deep-pocketed rivals, shouldn't they have a better opportunity to collect hardware? Or should those teams always have to accomplish mission impossible to earn a ring? More bluntly, should their owners simply invest more money in talent? Play ball: The game within the game is afoot. The results could chart the future of baseball. This story was written by Dylan Dittrich, author of our new sports business newsletter. Subscribe to Yahoo Sports Biz: yahoosports.com/biz

🌎 SNAPSHOTS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS (Taylor Banner/USSF/Getty Images) 🇺🇸 St. Paul, Minnesota   The USMNT beat Canada, 1-0, on Tuesday to complete a perfect post-World Cup break that featured four wins (in four matches), 13 debutants (eight teenagers), 12 goals (seven by those teenagers) and two clean sheets against their biggest regional rivals (Mexico and Canada).   What they're saying: "Like we said going into this camp, there's no pressure for any of these kids to perform right now, but a lot of them did perform right now," said captain Tyler Adams. "They obviously set the standard. Now it's about continuing to keep that standard." (Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images) 🇦🇷 Buenos Aires, Argentina   Lionel Messi played his final international match for Argentina on Tuesday. And because he is Lionel Messi, he had a hand in every goal, scoring once and assisting twice in a 3-0 win over Benin. "Not coming back is going to hurt so much," he said postgame. "Playing for the Argentina national team is the most beautiful thing that can happen to you."   Meanwhile, in Portugal: Fellow footballing legend Cristiano Ronaldo is authoring a far less graceful final chapter. The 41-year-old quit the squad last week after being an unused substitute against Norway, and he's apparently very mad at his manager. (Thomas Skrlj/NHLI via Getty Images) 🇨🇦 Toronto, Canada   No. 1 overall draft pick Gavin McKenna scored his first NHL goal (and recorded his first NHL assist) in the Maple Leafs' 5-4 (OT) victory over the Predators. "Big monkey off the back," said the 18-year-old Yukon native. "That's a goal I'll obviously remember forever."   A little help from his friends: McKenna lives with veteran teammate John Tavares and his family, so it was only fitting that his assist set up a Tavares goal. It was also fitting that McKenna's goal was assisted by Auston Matthews, who hosted him for a sleepover on Sunday. "We might have to have a weekly sleepover now," said the rookie.

📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, OCT. 7 (Giphy) ⚾️ MLB Division Series   This is the final day of the year with more than two scheduled MLB games — and the baseball gods gave us four.   Buckle up: The White Sox (up 2-0) host the Guardians (4pm ET, TBS) to get things started, then it's off to Atlanta for Braves (down 2-1) vs. Dodgers (6pm, FS1). We then travel to the Bronx for Yankees (down 2-0) vs. Rays (8pm, TBS) before the Padres (down 2-1) host the Brewers (10pm, FS1) in the nightcap.   🏀 WNBA Semifinals   Both road teams will try to draw even tonight as the Liberty (down 1-0) visit the Dream (7:30pm, ESPN) and the Aces (down 1-0) visit the Valkyries (9:30pm, NBCSN/Peacock).   Making the leap: After years of being a defensive stopper, Golden State's Gabby Williams has blossomed into a bonafide superstar, particularly in these playoffs, where she's averaging 25.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists.   More to watch: 🏒 NHL: Penguins at Capitals (7:30pm, TNT) … Alex Ovechkin's final home opener comes against Sidney Crosby and the Pens. Well played, scriptwriters. Well played. 🏀 NBA Preseason: Timberwolves at Pacers (7pm, NBA); Warriors at Trail Blazers (10pm, NBA) … Pregame reading: Ant-Man, LaMelo and Minnesota's most polarizing pair yet Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city.

🏒 LET'S PLAY TRIVIA TIME Ovi and Sid during the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills Competition. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) Alex Ovechkin (929) and Sidney Crosby (654) rank first and second in goals among active NHL players. Question: Who ranks third? Hint: Two-time Stanley Cup champion. Answer at the bottom.

📆 ON THIS DAY 222-0 (Georgia Tech Athletics) 110 years ago today, Georgia Tech — coached by John Heisman — beat Cumberland College, 222-0, in perhaps the most lopsided outcome in sports history. Not a fair fight: Georgia Tech was a national powerhouse in the midst of a 33-game unbeaten streak. Cumberland, meanwhile, had disbanded its football program that spring and assembled a makeshift team to avoid a $3,000 cancellation fee (about $90,000 today). The Yellow Jackets scored 32 touchdowns in 55 minutes, good for one every minute and 43 seconds. Cumberland had 15 turnovers, zero first downs and -33 total yards. As legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice, who was there, put it: "Cumberland's greatest individual play occurred when fullback Allen circled right for a six-yard loss." Revenge game: Heisman, who was also Georgia Tech's baseball coach, reportedly ran up the score as payback for a baseball game the prior year, when Cumberland fielded a team of minor league ringers and embarrassed Tech in a 22-0 win.

Trivia Time answer: Steven Stamkos (625 goals)

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⛳️ Spanish golf star Jon Rahm is exiting LIV Golf after deeming the league's reinvention plan "unacceptable." His departure marks a significant blow to the effort to create "LIV 2.0" after the league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. More from Nathan Bomey.

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👋 Good morning! It's a great day to have a great day. In today's edition: Three MLB teams advance, Rahm leaves LIV, Golden State and Atlanta go up 2-0, NFL power rankings, Jock Stocks, Saban doc premieres, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...

🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⛳️ Rahm leaves LIV: Jon Rahm, one of the biggest names remaining in LIV Golf, is exiting the league as it prepares to transition into its next phase. The Spaniard reportedly "reviewed the proposed terms of LIV 2.0 ... and has determined that those terms are unacceptable to him." 🏈 Eagles trade Jurgens: The Eagles traded two-time Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens to the Ravens for two draft picks, meaning they've now lost three starting offensive linemen since opening day after Landon Dickerson got injured and Lane Johnson retired. Despite what appears like a puzzling move, GM Howie Roseman says they're still "trying to win this year." 🏀 Happy trails, Dana: Longtime Oregon head coach Dana Altman is retiring less than a month before the season begins. Altman, 68, led the Ducks to nine NCAA Tournament appearances in 16 seasons, and will be replaced on an interim basis by assistant Tony Stubblefield. 🎾 Coco withdraws: Following her fourth-round defeat at the China Open, Coco Gauff announced she's withdrawing from next week's 1000-level Wuhan Open, which she won last year. Her decision comes amid a "draining" week in which she received an "insane" amount of racist comments after defeating a Chinese teen in the third round. ⚾️ Trump to honor Clemens: President Trump announced at a rally in San Antonio on Wednesday that he's giving Roger Clemens the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and that he called commissioner Rob Manfred earlier this year to push for the seven-time Cy Young winner (and alleged steroid user) to get into the Hall of Fame.

⚾️ DIVISION SERIES DODGERS, RAYS, BREWERS CLINCH (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) Four teams had a chance to clinch a spot in the League Championship Series on Wednesday; only three got the job done. Sorry, Southsiders.   Dodgers 4, Braves 1 — The quest for a three-peat marches on, as Los Angeles quieted the crowd in Atlanta to reach its eighth NLCS in the past 11 seasons. Andy Pages got the big hit, a two-run go-ahead single in the seventh, and Dave Roberts moved into second all-time with 72 playoff wins as a manager (Joe Torre, 84).   Can't win if you don't hit: The Braves' offense was anemic all series, batting just .145 including an unsightly 1-for-23 with runners in scoring position (.043). "[The fans] are well within their rights to boo," said Ronald Acuña Jr., who struggled as much as anyone. "I didn't do anything." (Sarah Stier/Getty Images) Rays 4, Yankees 3 — Tampa Bay brought out the brooms in the Bronx, hanging on for a narrow victory to clinch its first trip to the ALCS since 2020. The Yankees, meanwhile, extend their World Series drought to 17 years, tied for the longest in franchise history since winning their inaugural championship in 1923.   Jeffrey Maier 2.0: The most consequential play of the night came in the sixth inning, when Yankees 2B Anthony Volpe hit a game-tying two-run homer that was downgraded to an RBI double due to fan interference. It was reminiscent of the infamous Jeffrey Maier catch in the 1996 ALCS — 30 years ago tomorrow — albeit with the opposite outcome. Everybody be cool, this is a robbery! (Gregory Bull/AP Photo) Brewers 3, Padres 1 — Manny Machado and the 47,712 fans at Petco Park thought San Diego had this game tied up in the eighth inning, but Brewers centerfielder Garrett Mitchell had other plans, robbing the would-be game-tying homer to help Milwaukee advance to its second straight NLCS. Up next? A rematch with the Dodgers.   Going out with a whimper: The Padres went 0-for-21 at the plate to end the season, marking the longest hitless drought by an NL team to end a postseason all-time. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images) Guardians 9, White Sox 3 — The Southsiders entered the day hoping to celebrate their first playoff-series-clinching win at home in 120 years; instead, Cleveland's offense finally came alive for a season-saving victory. 10 of 11 Guardians who came to the plate reached base safely, combining for 11 hits and 10 walks while striking out just six times.   Speaking of strikeouts: Cleveland’s pitching staff made history by striking out 19 batters, the most ever by a team in a 9-inning postseason game.

🏀 WNBA SEMIFINALS VALKYRIES, DREAM TAKE CONTROL Tiffany Hayes' 21-point effort off the bench sparked the Valkyries win. (Jed Jacobsohn/NBAE via Getty Images) On Oct. 5, 2023, the WNBA awarded the Bay Area an expansion team. Three years later, the Golden State Valkyries have already become: The most valuable franchise in women's sports ($1 billion per CNBC, $850 million per Sportico). The first WNBA team to eclipse 18,000 fans per game for a whole season. The first women's sports team to eclipse $100 million in annual revenue. The first WNBA expansion team to reach the playoffs in its inaugural season. And now this: They followed up that final achievement in year two by posting the WNBA's second-best record, and are now one game from the Finals after beating the defending champion Aces, 83-81, on Wednesday to take a 2-0 series lead. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) Meanwhile, in Atlanta: Angel Reese and the Dream held on for a 101-98 overtime win over the Liberty to take their own 2-0 series lead — a deficit no WNBA team has ever come back from in a best-of-five series.

🏈 WEEK 5 NFL POWER RANKINGS (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) The undefeated 49ers have surged to the top of our latest power rankings, setting the stage for a season-long battle for supremacy in what once again looks like the NFL's best division. Division breakdown: The mighty NFC West, which made history last season when three teams won 12+ games, currently has by far the best average ranking of any division, with those same three teams landing in our top eight. The woeful NFC South brings up the rear, without a single team in the top 15. NFC West (9.5): 49ers (1), Seahawks (2), Rams (8), Cardinals (27) AFC West (14): Chiefs (3), Raiders (10), Broncos (14), Chargers (29) NFC North (14.5): Bears (6), Vikings (9), Lions (19), Packers (24) AFC North (14.75): Ravens (7), Bengals (11), Browns (20), Steelers (21) NFC East (17.25): Cowboys (12), Eagles (15), Giants (17), Commanders (25) AFC East (19.5): Bills (5), Patriots (13), Jets (28), Dolphins (32) AFC South (20.75): Jaguars (4), Colts (22), Texans (26), Titans (31) NFC South (21.75): Falcons (16), Panthers (18), Saints (23), Buccaneers (30) Notice anything? A regional hierarchy appears to have emerged this season: The two West divisions lead the way, followed by the North, East and South divisions. Kind of strange, isn't it?

📉 JOCK STOCKS BLOOD IN THE STREETS IN Q3 The S&P 500 gained 2.3% in Q3 despite turbulence throughout. While sports franchises were resilient, the market offered little hospitality to many companies operating in sports and sports-adjacent industries. 🎰 Sports gambling: The giants in sports betting struggled again, with FanDuel owner Flutter dropping 27% and DraftKings down 25%. Other businesses in and around the space also stumbled as the industry remains plagued by prediction market competition, organic growth concerns, and legislative changes. 👟 Apparel and footwear: The biggest sign that conditions were challenging? Nike (-13%) was one of the best performers in Q3. Under Armour (-30%), Hoka owner Deckers (-21%), Adidas (-20%), and On (-16%) all struggled amid soft demand and heavy discounting. ⛳️ Golf: Wavering consumer appetites extended to the golf course, as softer forward-looking guidance from both Titleist owner Acushnet (-30%) and Callaway (-25%) weighed on share prices after strong first-half performance. Higher material and import costs have also contributed to struggles. 🎟️ Ticket marketplaces: StubHub (-57%) and Vivid Seats (-41%) struggled as much as anyone in Q3, as a World Cup hangover and regulatory headwinds (i.e., all-in fee transparency) stifled growth trajectories. Structural developments are also threatening the business, as primary market sellers become more aggressive with dynamic pricing. Bottom line: You can hardly go a day without positive news for sports franchise valuations. The story in other pockets of the sports ecosystem is not nearly as positive. This story was written by Dylan Dittrich, author of our new sports business newsletter.

📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, OCT. 8 Chicago's Rate Field before Game 3 on Wednesday. (Jessie Alcheh/MLB Photos via Getty Images) ⚾️ ALDS, Game 4   The White Sox (up 2-1) will try to finish the job tonight at home (8pm ET, TBS), while the Guardians hope to send the series back to Cleveland for a decisive Game 5.   Jekyll and Hyde: Cleveland's offense in Games 1 and 2 scored just three runs on seven hits before erupting for nine runs and 11 hits in Wednesday's victory. Which team will show up tonight?   🏈 Buccaneers at Cowboys   Week 5 kicks off at Jerry World (8:15pm, Prime), where the 2-2 Cowboys host the winless Buccaneers, who are off to their first 0-4 start since 2013.   Don't bet on it: Tampa Bay (currently +8.5) has failed to cover the spread in an NFL-record 13 consecutive games.   Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city.

🏈 LET'S PLAY TRIVIA TIME (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) "Saban," a six-part docuseries chronicling the life and career of legendary college football coach Nick Saban, premieres tonight on ESPN (6pm ET). Question: While Saban is best known for coaching Alabama, he was also the head coach at three other colleges and one NFL team. Can you name those four teams? Answer at the bottom.

🏎️ START YOUR ENGINES YAHOO SPORTS x APPLE TV (Apple) This weekend's Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2026 continues our season-long partnership with Apple TV for F1 coverage. Tune in: Tomorrow's practice and sprint qualifying (4:30am ET; 8:30am), plus Saturday's qualifying (9am), will air for free on Yahoo Sports. Saturday's sprint (5am) and Sunday's race (8am) will stream on Apple TV, the new U.S. home of Formula 1.

Trivia Time answer: Toledo (1990), Michigan State (1995-99), LSU (2000-04), Miami Dolphins (2005-06)

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