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Good morning and happy Wednesday. Carter Bahns here on the heels of a World Series game that actually wrapped up before midnight. The Blue Jays showed no ill effects from the 18-inning marathon the night prior as they evened the Fall Classic at two games apiece.
This edition of your morning newsletter opens with a look back at Toronto’s 6-2 win, but there is plenty to cover across the rest of the sports universe, as well. We have movement on the NFL trade market, updates in WNBA collective bargaining negotiations, a quarterback change in New Orleans and much more to highlight this morning.
Let’s get started.
🐦 Five things to know Wednesday
The Blue Jays leveled the World Series with a 6-2 win over the Dodgers. Things are all square in the Fall Classic. The Dodgers took an early lead, but it lasted all of one inning before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. launched a two-run home run to put Toronto on top with a lead it would not relinquish. Shohei Ohtani settled in to an extent on the mound after surrendering the round-tripper, but the Blue Jays were far from done offensively and tacked on four insurance runs. The series now becomes a best-of-three affair heading into Game 5.Tyler Shough replaces Spencer Rattler as the Saints’ starting quarterback. Shough makes his first NFL start Sunday against the Rams. The move comes after Shough replaced Rattler in the third quarter of last week’s loss to the Buccaneers, which dropped the latter quarterback to 1-13 in the starting role. Shough, a second-round pick, faces an uphill battle as he steps into a lineup with myriad deficiencies.NFL trade deadline watch continues as the Patriots make two moves. Buy, sell or hold? That is the question for fringe NFL contenders in the hunt for playoff berths ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline. The Patriots made a pair of trades one week out from the deadline, loading up on draft picks in shipping safety Kyle Dugger and a seventh-round selection to the Steelers and defensive end Keion White and a seventh-rounder to the 49ers. New England picked up a pair of sixth-round picks in exchange.The WNBA offered players a 30-day extension to continue collective bargaining agreement negotiations. The timing of this reported extension is critical as the CBA is set to expire on Oct. 31, but there is no guarantee the players will accept the offer. An extension was necessary to complete negotiations the last time the WNBA and its players worked on a CBA, so going down to the wire is nothing new. A work stoppage could be on the horizon if the sides cannot come to an agreement on salaries, benefits, roster sizes, scheduling, officiating and other hot-button issues.The NCAA pumped the brakes on its new sports betting legislation. The rule reversal permitting athletes to gamble on professional sports was set to go into effect this weekend, but the NCAA voted instead to delay its effective date until Nov. 22 — one day after the end of a 30-day period in which Division I schools can vote to rescind the proposal. Given the amount of backlash the rule change received, there appears to be a strong chance it never actually materializes. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Pittsburgh football coach Pat Narduzzi are among those to become vocal against allowing athletes to bet on pro sports.
🏀 Do not miss this: College basketball’s top 100 and 1 players entering the 2025-26 season
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College basketball tips off next week, so there is no better time than now to familiarize yourself with the biggest names in the game. Some of them are brand new to the sport; freshmen Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and AJ Dybantsa promise to play major roles in defining the 2025-26 season. Others, like Purdue stars Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn are known commodities.
Speaking of Smith, our panel of college basketball experts named him the best player in the country entering his senior year. He tops the preseason top 100 and 1 player rankings as one of two Boilermakers in the top 10. Gary Parrish explained why it was a fairly easy choice.
Parrish: “Smith is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year and only consensus First Team All-American to return to school, making him a reasonable pick to top this list. … If Smith averages 8.7 assists again, and appears in at least 37 games, both of which are obviously possible, he will pass Duke legend Bobby Hurley and become the NCAA’s career assists leader and cement his place as an all-time college basketball great.”
Here are the top 10 players in the preseason top 100 and 1:
G Braden Smith, PurdueG Darryn Peterson, KansasF JT Toppin, Texas TechF Cameron Boozer, DukeF AJ Dybantsa, BYUG Donovan Dent, UCLAF Trey Kaufman-Renn, PurdueF Yaxel Lendeborg, MichiganG Otega Oweh, KentuckyG Milos Uzan, Houston
📈📉 Pete Prisco’s Week 9 NFL Power Rankings
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A bevy of blowouts made for subpar entertainment, but it cemented a number of storylines in the NFL last week. Preseason darlings looked like the Super Bowl contenders they were made out to be, and this year’s surprise teams largely kept on rolling. In turn, Pete Prisco made fewer changes to his weekly power rankings than in previous editions. The top 10 teams, in fact, are identical to Week 8.
The Texans and Jaguars are up seven spots apiece to Nos. 13 and 14, respectively. Each of the 49ers, Bears and Steelers dropped four places.
Here’s what Prisco had to say about this week’s biggest climbers:
On the Texans: “The offense clicked in a big way against the 49ers, which gives them hope going forward. But now that unit faces a tough test against the Denver defense.”On the Jaguars: “They come off their bye in need of better play from the passing game. It’s time for the Trevor Lawrence-Brian Thomas Jr. connection to show some life.”
Here are the top 10 teams in Prisco’s Week 9 NFL Power Rankings:
Colts (previous ranking: 1)Chiefs (2)Packers (3)Lions (4)Buccaneers (5)Broncos (6)Seahawks (7)Rams (8)Patriots (9)Bills (10)
🤼 Tom Aspinall holds steady in UFC pound-for-pound fighter rankings
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Tom Aspinall just made his first appearance in the Octagon in 15 months, but his return to action was underwhelming as the UFC 321 main event lasted just four minutes and ended in a no contest. A double eye poke from Cyril Gane rendered Aspinall sightless, and while fans and prominent figures in the UFC community criticized the latter for not fighting through his pain, Brian Campbell says he deserved better from the critics.
In turn, Aspinall remains at No. 10 in Campbell’s pound-for-pound fighter rankings on the heels of UFC 321.
Campbell: “For a pound-for-pound ranked fighter who has done almost everything right, seeing him reduced to having to defend his toughness by live streaming his doctor’s visit the following day in some ill-advised attempt to prove he wasn’t lying about the severity of the foul is something a fighter of his stature shouldn’t have to do.”
Below are the top five male fighters in the rankings. Check out the full rankings, including the top five women.
Ilia Topuria (previous ranking: 1)Merab Dvalishvili (2)Islam Makhachev (3)Alex Pereira (4)Khamzat Chimaev (5)
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
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Marcus Freeman reportedly declined advances from Penn State and Florida amid their coaching searches. Jon Sumrall, meanwhile, brushed off a question about the LSU job.Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt is expected to miss this week’s game at Iowa State after he aggravated an injury early in the loss to Houston.Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates denied any connection to the mafia-linked rigged poker games outlined in the FBI gambling investigation.Giannis Antetokounmpo brushes off Knicks trade rumors after leading the Bucks past New York as Mike Brown bemoans Knicks players ‘standing and watching’ during offensive growing pains.Terry Rozier faced an $8 million tax lien during his alleged involvement in an illegal sports betting ring.The Patriots’ front office was busy. In addition to its pair of trades, team management also reached an agreement with former All-Pro punt returner and cornerback Marcus Jones on a three-year contract extension.The Giants reportedly have no interest in trading former first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux at the deadline.Help is on the way in the Steelers secondary with Pittsburgh reportedly set to sign veteran safety Darrick Forrest.Lamar Jackson, it turns out, was the one who prompted the Ravens to remove leisure activities from their locker room.The Bengals defense held a players-only meeting after surrendering over 500 yards to the previously winless Jets.Kai Trump, the granddaughter of President Trump, will make her LPGA Tour debut in November after she received a sponsor exemption into The ANNIKA.Shaquille O’Neal’s custom $180,000 Range Rover was stolen in transit to an LSU game.Former NHL center Ryan Kesler pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.
📺 What we’re watching Wednesday
🏀 Cavaliers at Celtics, 7 p.m. on ESPN🏒 Maple Leafs at Blue Jackets, 7:30 p.m. on NHL Network🏈 Jacksonville State at Middle Tennessee, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2⚾ World Series, Game 5: Blue Jays at Dodgers, 8 p.m. on Fox⚽ Women’s international friendly: New Zealand at United States, 8 p.m. on TNT/TruTV/HBO Max/Peacock🏈 FIU at Missouri State, 8 p.m. CBS Sports Network🏀 Lakers at Timberwolves, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN⚽ MLS Playoffs, Round One, Game 1: Austin FC at Los Angeles FC, 10:30 p.m. on Apple TV+
