Yankees and Brewers lock up playoff spots; two new QBs top NFL, CFB Power Rankings

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⚾ Good morning to everyone, but especially to…

New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers

It’s not often you can celebrate two wins on a day when you only play one match, but Yankees And Brewers So happy to be the rare exception. New York confirmed a place in the playoffs and Milwaukee won the NL Centralbecame the first two teams to officially reach the postseason.

The Yankees won 2-1 in 10 innings The Mariners, Anthony Rizzo Scored both runs for the Bronx Bombers, including the game-winning double in the 10th inning. Aaron Judge And Juan Soto Historical figures are presented, Gerrit Cole The rotation remains an excellent top of the line starter and rookie Austin Wells And Luis Gill have been important contributors.

Milwaukee won when Cubs lost a day’s play ExerciseBrew Crew keeps the good vibes going with a 2-1 walk-off win Phillies, Jake Bauers Got the winning hit.

This is a very impressive year Unstable offseason And there were also a lot of issues during the season – especially Christian YelichNewcomer Jackson Chourio And Joey Ortiz Stepping up with the giants Willie Adams And William Contreras Offensively, that and an excellent bullpen have held down the fort.

Both clubs are quite familiar with playoff baseball, but neither has had much success recently. The Yankees are making their seventh trip in nine seasons, but haven’t won a World Series since 2009, which is equal to all-time for the sport’s most decorated franchise. Milwaukee is making its sixth trip in seven seasons, but hasn’t won a playoff series since 2018.

👍 Honorable Mention

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 New leaders in NFL, college football QB power rankings

Who doesn’t love a changing of the guard at the top? We have a new top dog in the form of Cody Benjamin NFL QB Power Rankings And Tom Fornelli College Football QB Power Rankings,

In the pros, josh allen Jumped to No. 1. He’s in the top five in passer rating, expected points per dropback, yards per attempt and completion percentage. Oh yeah, and he’s doing all this with a new receiving corps. Here are the top five:

1. Josh Allen (Previous: 2)
2. CJ Stroud (4)
3. Patrick Mahomes (1)
4. Lamar Jackson (3)
5. Brock Purdy (5)

Derek Carr He’s only 14th on Cody’s rankings; I think you could argue he should be first.

If we talk about college level, Texas The signal caller is still No. 1, it’s just a different Longhorn. Last week was Quinn EversBut with him came the hurt, Arch Manning takes the throne. Here are the top five names:

1. Arch Manning (previous: not ranked)
2. Jalen Milroe (4)
3. Cam Ward (3)
4. Niko Imaleva (5)
   
5. Jackson Dart (6)

You’ll see four SEC quarterbacks, and that doesn’t include Georgia‘S Carson Beckwho slipped from second to eighth spot after the low-scoring win Kentucky But it’s still one of the best in the country. Brad Crawford wrote on this The explosion of quarterback talent in the SEC,

• Crawford: “Only three times since the SEC’s initial expansion to 12 teams in 1992 has the league produced three quarterbacks with 30 or more touchdown passes in the same season… This fall, the league has a chance five Signal callers are people who transcend numbers. There’s never been star power like there has been in the conference before, and that’s not an exaggeration.”

At the end, Miller Moss It might only get an honorable mention in Tom’s rankings, but There can be a lot of changes in this When the U.S.C. Michigan Cameron Salerno writes, this weekend.

• Salerno: “Getting a win against Michigan would mark a new era at USC. The Trojans are 2-15 against ranked opponents on the road in their last 17 games, losing by an average of 10.5 points. Riley is 4-7 against top-25 teams with the Trojans. Michigan has won 22 consecutive conference games and is 13-0 in Ann Arbor against Big Ten opponents since 2021. … Something has to give on Saturday, and if the latter streak is snapped, it could be the perfect time to jump on the ‘Moss for Heisman’ bandwagon.”

🏀 Top stories from the final night of the WNBA regular season, plus Portland is getting a team!

The WNBA regular season ends tonight, and there’s a lot at stake across the league. Here’s a look at the standings and playoff scenarios,

1. Liberty (32-7, clinches No. 1 seed)
2. Lynx (30-9, No. 2 seed wins)
3. Suns (27-12, clinches third place with win over Sky or Aces)
4. Aces (26-13, can clinch No. 3 seed with a win over Wings and loss to Suns)
5. Storm (24-15, No. 5 seed wins)
6. Fever (20-19, No. 6 seed wins)
7. Mercury (19-20, No. 7 seed wins)
   
8. Dream (14-25, occupy No. 8 seed with win over Liberty or loss against Liberty and Mystics and loss by Sky or loss against Liberty and Mystics and loss by Sky)
9. Mystics (13-26, can clinch No. 8 seed with a win over Fever and loss to Dream and a win over Sky)
10. Sky (13-26, can clinch No. 8 seed with a win over Sun and Dream loss and Mystics Loss,

Got it? Good. (The Wings and Sparks By the way, these have been discontinued.)

Very soon, we’ll see even more teams join in the fun. The WNBA announced Wednesday that Portland will be the league’s 15th team and will begin play in 2026. The league is also adding Golden State Valkyries A new team will be formed in 2025 and a new Toronto team in 2026.

Who will own the Portland franchise? Lisa Bhathal Marriage And alex bhathal; The Bhathal family also owns the NWSL Portland Thorns and he’s an investor Sacramento KingsPortland’s WNBA team will play at the Moda Center – where Trail Blazers game — and mark a return to the WNBA for the Rose City, which Fire From 2000-2002.

WNBA Commissioner Kathy Englebert earlier he had said The league is expected to grow to 16 teams by 2028And the Portland expansion is the next step toward that goal.

⚽ UEFA Champions League: Manchester City and Inter end in a scoreless draw, full result

After a slew of goals on Tuesday, things calmed down a bit in Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League match, making balls that go into the net even more important.

In the main program, Manchester City And inter Milan Despite many chances, the game ended in a 0-0 draw. James Benge says The Nationals have problems at both ends of the field,

• Benz: “The balance is completely off. With the ball, City are having to send so many players up the pitch that at times it looks like there are six players in a row erling halland.Inevitably, this opened up chances for Inter without the ball, so much so that Pep Guardiola‘s men were indeed lucky to end this evening with a clean sheet. … Even in a very favourable event to start the league season, the weaknesses on the counter were obvious to those who have been watching City closely.

PSG Got on the score sheet, but by a very small margin. The French giants defeated gironaAfter a terrible last minute mistake by Girona’s goalkeeper, they won 1-0. Paulo GazzanigaIt may not have been the prettiest victory, but PSG still pose a major threatJonathan Johnson writes.

Elsewhere…

📺 What we’re looking forward to on Thursday

We’re watching the UEFA Champions League on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network. This way.
Fever in the Mystics7 PM on Prime Video
dream freelyon NBA TV at 7 p.m.
Phillies at Mets Or Diamondbacks vs. Brewers7:15pm on Fox
South Alabama vs. Appalachian State7:30pm on ESPN
Patriots vs. Jets8:15pm on Prime Video