| | | | | | | Presented By DEMETER FRAGRANCE LIBRARY® | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Sep 30, 2020 | | 👋 Good morning! Let's sports. 🚨 Breaking: Serena Williams has withdrawn from the French Open prior to her second-round match due to an Achilles injury. Today's word count: 1,759 words (7 minutes). | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🏀 The NBA Finals have arrived |  | | | Illustration: Axios Visuals | | | | Today marks the 85th straight day in the bubble for the Lakers and the Heat, who've spent 12 weeks living at the Gran Destino Tower — a 15-story, 545-room hotel typically reserved for family vacations. Now, they'll compete for the NBA title. Coming up: Game 1 of the NBA Finals is tonight at 9pm ET (ABC). Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson will be on the call, with Rachel Nichols serving as the sideline reporter. - The Lakers are the 80th No. 1 seed in the shot-clock era (1954-present) to reach the Finals, and LeBron James spent the summer reminding everyone that he's still the best player in the world.
- The Heat are the first No. 5 seed in the shot-clock era to reach the Finals and have a chance to become the NBA's most unlikely champion, having started the season roughly a century ago with 60-1 odds.
The intrigue: Heat president Pat Riley taught LeBron the secrets to constructing a championship roster when he played in Miami. Now, LeBron will try to use that blueprint against him in a matchup of two similarly-built teams. - "LeBron had a vision for what he wanted his team to look like when he came to Los Angeles. Then he ruthlessly executed that vision over the past two years," writes The Ringer's Jonathan Tjarks.
- "Riley [has] been competing with LeBron ever since the latter left Miami. After 17 seasons in the NBA, LeBron's biggest rivals are no longer playing him on the court. They are pitching other superstars in boardrooms."
What to watch: Both teams rely on frontcourt duos, and all four players — James and Anthony Davis vs. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo — can guard one another. Go deeper: Inside the longest, most unpredictable year in NBA history (ESPN) |     | | | | | | 2. 🏈 NFL games are higher-scoring than ever |  Chart: Axios Visuals NFL teams have scored a combined 51 points per game through Week 3 (2,446 total points), demolishing the previous record of 47.7 ppg (2,287 total points) set in 2012, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. By the numbers: Teams are also on pace to set the record for: - Field goals made: 1.70 per game (current record: 1.69).
- Two-point conversions: 0.30 attempts and 0.14 conversions per game (current records: 0.25 and 0.13).
- Receiving TDs: 1.79 per game (current record: 1.65)
Wild stat: Of the 33 weeks outlined in the chart above (Weeks 1–3 since 2010), Week 2 and Week 3 of this season are the only two to cross the 800 point threshold, with 853 and 835 points, respectively. What they're saying: Possible reasons for this season's surge in points, according to former NFL GM and current XFL executive Randy Mueller: - Lack of crowd noise: With fans either prohibited or severely limited, QB's haven't had to rely on silent counts to communicate with their offensive tackles. Better protection = better offense.
- Less holding: Through three weeks, there have been half as many offensive holding penalties (75) as the average across Weeks 1–3 in the past three years (156).
- Offense ahead of defense: Teams were limited to seven-on-seven all summer, which benefited offenses — and the passing game, in particular — more than defenses. With no preseason reps, defensive units are mostly learning on the job.
The bottom line: The most points ever scored in a season was 11,987 in 2013. Through the first three weeks that year, teams put up 2,171 points. Through the first three weeks this year? 2,446 points. | | | | | | | | 3. ⚾️ MLB playoffs: AL Wild Card recap | | An empty Target Field in Minneapolis. Photo: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images The first day of expanded postseason baseball is in the books, with the Astros, White Sox, Rays and Yankees all taking 1-0 leads in their best-of-three AL Wild Card series, Jeff writes. Scoreboard: - Astros 4, Twins 1: A ninth inning throwing error by Twins SS Jorge Polanco helped turn a tie game into a blown one, and Minnesota lost its 17th straight playoff game (!!!).
- White Sox 4, A's 1: Lucas Giolito, who threw a no-hitter on Aug. 25, was perfect through six innings and Chicago's hitters backed him up with three dingers. It's not quite Twins territory, but the A's have now lost six straight playoff games themselves.
- Rays 3, Blue Jays 1: Blake Snell didn't allow his first hit until the sixth inning and the Rays' all-world bullpen took care of the rest as the top seed moved to within a win of the ALDS.
- Yankees 12, Indians 3: Shane Bieber picked a terrible time to have his only bad start of the season, allowing seven earned runs in just 4.2 innings. Meanwhile, Gerrit Cole was excellent, becoming the first pitcher in postseason history with three career 12-strikeout games.
Photo: Joe Sargent/MLB Photos via Getty Images Today's slate: - 1pm: Astros at Twins (ESPN2)
- 3pm: White Sox at A's (ESPN)
- 4pm: Blue Jays at Rays (TBS)
- 7pm: Yankees at Indians (ESPN)
| | | | | | | | A message from DEMETER FRAGRANCE LIBRARY® | | Stay safe, smell great: Scented hand sanitizer from Demeter | | |  | | | | Demeter Fragrance Library now has new scented hand sanitizers that not only keep you safe but allow you to add a personal touch with your favorite scent. The FDA-approved formula includes 80% Ethyl Alcohol and the same gentle perfume alcohol that is used in Demeter's colognes. Get yours today. | | | | | | 4. ⚾️ MLB playoffs: NL Wild Card preview |  | | | Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Getty Images photos: Sean M. Haffey, Jamie Sabau, Norm Hall and Mike Stobe | | | | The NL joins the postseason fun this afternoon and into the evening, making today the first day in MLB history to feature eight playoff games, Jeff writes. No. 7 Reds at No. 2 Braves (12pm, ESPN) - Game 1 starters: Trevor Bauer vs. Max Fried. Bauer's a favorite to win the Cy Young, and Fried will likely finish in the top five.
- Key question: Braves bats or Reds rotation? Ronald Acuña Jr. finished with 14 HR and a .987 OPS ... yet was Atlanta's third-best hitter behind Freddie Freeman (1.102 OPS) and Marcell Ozuna (1.067 OPS). But the Reds' trio of Bauer, Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray is a nightmare in a short series.
- Series odds (per PointsBet): Braves -125; Reds +105
No. 6 Marlins at No. 3 Cubs (2pm, ABC) - Game 1 starters: Sandy Alcántara (2.30 ERA in past five starts) vs. Kyle Hendricks (lowest walk rate in the league).
- Key question: Can lightning strike a third time? The Marlins have only made the playoffs twice — but won it all both times! For starters, they'll need to get past a Cubs team that mostly underperformed but still won the division.
- Series odds: Cubs -190; Marlins +160
No. 5 Cardinals at No. 4 Padres (5pm, ESPN2) - Game 1 starters: Kwang-Hyun Kim (1.62 ERA as a rookie) vs. Chris Paddack, who is hoping to recapture his stellar rookie form from 2019.
- Key question: Just how bad are these injuries? The Padres are the better team, but their two best pitchers — Dinelson Lamet and Mike Clevinger — got injured last week. The Cardinals' cellar-dwelling offense (.371 SLG) gets a huge reprieve if those guys can't go.
- Series odds: Padres -175; Cardinals +145
No. 8 Brewers at No. 1 Dodgers (10pm, ESPN) - Game 1 starters: Brent Suter vs. Walker Buehler. Suter will lead a bullpen game for Milwaukee, while Buehler tries to put an uneven season behind him and get back to dominating.
- Key question: Do they even have a chance? This Dodgers team would have threatened the all-time wins record (116) in a full season, while the Brewers finished the year with a sub-.500 record.
- Series odds: Dodgers -300; Brewers +240
Today's slate: - 12pm: Reds At Braves (ESPN2)
- 2pm: Marlins at Cubs (ABC)
- 5pm: Cardinals at Padres (ESPN2)
- 10pm: Brewers at Dodgers (ESPN)
| | | | | | | | 5. 😷 Developing story: Titans COVID-19 outbreak |  | | | Photo: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images | | | | The Titans shut down in-person activities on Tuesday after receiving eight confirmed positive tests (three players, five staffers). - The Vikings, who played the Titans on Sunday in Minneapolis, also suspended in-person activities and staff were told to plan for facilities to be closed for 48 hours.
Where it stands: Tennessee's facilities will stay closed until at least Saturday. They're set to host the Steelers on Sunday, and while the NFL has given no indication that the game will be postponed, it's "clearly on the table," per SI's Albert Breer. The bottom line: The protocols the NFL has used up to this point have been about keeping COVID-19 out. Now it's about getting COVID-19 out. | | | | | | | | 6. 💵 Sports stocks |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | Thanks largely to the legalization of betting, there's growing interest and media coverage (hi) around the intersection between sports and the financial markets. Driving the news: Roundhill Investments launched a sports betting ETF called BETZ in June, and last month it surpassed $100 million in assets under management. - BETZ is comprised of 37 stocks, with PointsBet, William Hill, DraftKings and Penn National Gaming representing its largest holdings.
- Roundhill also has an ETF called NERD that's centered around esports — another emerging sports-related sector that's attracted the attention of investors.
The big picture: Sportico created the JohnWallStreet Sports Stock Index to serve as a measuring stick for the growth of the domestic sports industry. The index is comprised 40 publicly traded companies that Sportico feels best reflect the greater state of professional sports. They are: - 1–10: Amazon ($1.75 trillion market cap); Disney ($217B); AT&T ($212.6B); Comcast ($197.9B); Nike ($151.4B); Activision ($65B); Adidas ($57.5B); EA Sports ($41.1B); Bell Canada ($38.3B); EBAY ($37.7B)
- 11–20: Flutter ($24.4B); Rogers Corp ($21.2B); Take Two Interactive ($19.3B); ViacomCBS ($16B); Fox ($15B); DraftKings ($13.1B); Puma ($11.8B); Live Nation ($10.2B); Liberty Formula One ($8B), Aramark ($5.9B)
- 21–30: Churchill Downs ($5.9B); Penn National Gaming ($5.2B); Under Armour ($4.4B); WWE ($3.5B); Manchester United ($2.5B); Scientific Games ($1.9B); William Hill ($1.9B); MSG Entertainment Corp. ($1.7B); Sinclair ($1.6B); PointsBet ($1.5B)
- 31–40: Juventus ($1.2B); Liberty Braves Group ($989M); MSG Sports Corp. ($580M); RedBall ($577M); MSG Networks ($553M); Collectors Universe ($357M); The Score ($198M); Daktronics ($185M); Hall of Fame Resort ($182M); Dover Motorsports ($53M)
| | | | | | | | 7. 🏀 By the numbers | | Photo: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images - 🏀 5th straight year: The Aces beat the Sun, 66-63, to advance to play the Storm in the WNBA Finals. This is the fifth straight season that the WNBA MVP made the Finals, with A'ja Wilson joining Elena Delle Donne, Breanna Stewart, Sylvia Fowles and Nneka Ogwumike (all four of whom won the title).
- ⚾️ 109 years: MLB started eliminating minor league affiliates Tuesday, with the Appalachian League — which has been an affiliated league since 1911 — converted to a college summer circuit for rising freshmen and sophomores.
- 🏈 32 catches: Through three weeks, Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins has an astounding 32 catches. If he keeps this up, he could break the single-season receptions record (149) just one year after Michael Thomas set it. For reference, Thomas had 25 catches through three weeks last season.
- 🎾 ~215 rooms available: Members of the public can rent rooms at the hotel near the Eiffel Tower where tennis players are staying during the French Open — a cause for a concern among some players, NYT reports.
- 🏒 65 days: It's been 65 days since Lightning defenseman Zach Bogosian was able to lift his kids in his arms. You love to see it.
Source: @TBLightning (Twitter) | | | | | | | | 8. Sept. 30, 1916: ⚾️ MLB's longest win streak |  | | | President Woodrow Wilson throwing out the first ball on Opening Day of the 1916 MLB season. Photo: Underwood Archives/Getty Images | | | | 104 years ago today, the New York Giants' streak of 26 straight wins was snapped with an 8-3 loss to the Boston Braves. Their streak still stands as the longest in MLB history. - The loss came in the second leg of a doubleheader. The Giants won the first game, 4-0, but gave up five runs in the 7th inning of the second and couldn't battle back.
- Despite an 86-66 record, the Giants missed the playoffs, which ended with Babe Ruth's Red Sox beating Casey Stengel's Brooklyn Robins, 4-1, in the World Series.
The big picture: There have been six other streaks of at least 20 games in MLB history, including two this century. - The 2002 A's won 20 straight thanks to Scott Hatteberg's walk-off homer after surrendering an 11-0 lead. Yes, you remember the scene from "Moneyball."
- The 2017 Indians won 22 straight, second only to these 1916 Giants.
Go deeper: Indians chased history and the 1916 Giants (MLB) | | | | | | | | 9. 🏈 NFL trivia |  | | | Photo: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images | | | | Brett Rypien will start for the Broncos on Thursday, becoming the ninth QB to start a game for Denver since the start of the 2017 season. - Question: Can you name the eight other QBs?
- Hint: Two were first-round picks.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. ❤️ Why we love sports | | Canadian fans during the 1972 Summit Series. Photo: Melchior DiGiacomo/Getty Images Ian T. (Prince Edward Island, Canada) writes: To Canadians, there is no greater hockey moment than Sept. 28, 1972, when Paul Henderson scored the winning goal late in the third period to lift Canada past the USSR in the first real series between our best and theirs. My wife and I were among the 3,000 Canadians who attended those fiercely-contested games in Moscow as part of the eight-game Summit Series, and I'd never heard "Oh Canada" sung more loudly or more proudly. By comparison, there was silence during the USSR anthem, partly because, one Soviet told me, the government had changed the words so frequently that they no longer knew what words to sing. The Canadian fans were boisterous, dressed in all manner of red and white. The Moscowvites were orderly in their black and grey. We ate caviar and sipped vodka between periods as if that was normal. The Soviet fans stared at us and, I always thought, quietly admired our ribald behavior. Photo: Frank Lennon/Toronto Star via Getty Images The whole experience was exciting but one moment stands out, unremembered by all except us. After Team Canada finished warming up, Peter Mahovlich picked up a puck and headed off the ice. I immediately recognized he was looking for a Canadian to toss it to, so I jumped to my feet and looked expectantly at him. We locked eyes and Peter tossed the puck in my direction, as my inner brain screamed, "please don't drop it." It came at me like a knuckleball change-up and my pulse quickened, but after a momentary bobble, I secured it. It was only a puck. But it still sits in its frame in our trophy room, a reminder of a fiercely fought Cold War hockey series between two countries from two different worlds — worlds that seemingly remain as different now as they were back then. Russian fans during the 1972 Summit Series. Photo: Melchior DiGiacomo/Getty Images ✍️ Submit your story: Do you have a fondest sports memory? Or a story about sports having a positive impact on your life? To share, simply reply to this email. | | | | | | | | A message from DEMETER FRAGRANCE LIBRARY® | | Stay safe, smell great: Scented hand sanitizer from Demeter | | | | | | | | Demeter Fragrance Library now has new scented hand sanitizers that not only keep you safe but allow you to add a personal touch with your favorite scent. The FDA-approved formula includes 80% Ethyl Alcohol and the same gentle perfume alcohol that is used in Demeter's colognes. Get yours today. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Mahomie" Baker Trivia answer: Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch, Joe Flacco, Case Keenum, Brandon Allen, Drew Lock, Jeff Driskel | | Invite friends to follow Axios Sports Use your personal link to track how many readers you bring into the community  You currently have 00 referrals. Share with a friend For questions email referralsupport@axios.com. Participation in the Axios Sports Referral Program constitutes your acceptance of the Axios Terms and Conditions of Use, which can be viewed here. | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters.
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