NBA, NFL, MLB Championship Winner Predictions || Recapping NBA 1st Games || NFL Top 5 Power Rankings || International News and More!
Edition #9
Intro
Yes. This is a Thursday newsletter. This week we will not have a Friday newsletter, so after this, I’ll see you on Monday (unless you’re a paid subscriber). Like I told you yesterday, either it will be the longest newsletter to the shortest. Well, it’s the LONGEST! Here we go.
NBA, NFL, MLB Championship Winner Predictions
NFL
Now that we’re at Week 8, who’s winning the Super Bowl? Is it the Chiefs? The 49ers? The Ravens? None of those teams are winning it. Neither are the Eagles if you think I’m going to be biased.
It’s the Lions.
Why yes, the Lions lost by 32 points to the Ravens. Why yes, they lost to the Seahawks. But, this team has never looked so better. Plus, they’re in the easiest division you can ever imagine!
I mean, the Vikings are just bad. The Packers without Aaron Rodgers is just bad. The Bears can’t play a proper football game with their so-called franchise QB.
Think about the eagles. They play in a division with the Dallas Cowboys. Another great contender for the playoffs. The Commanders are so-and-so and the Giants are just like the Bears. The Eagles, Cowboys, and Giants all qualified for the playoffs.
Another division is the NFC West. They have the Seahawks who are also, to some extent, contenders, and the Rams are pushing for the playoffs this season. The 49ers need all the wins they can get, especially if the Cardinals become better and better with new rookies that they add.
Of course, come playoffs, this is a whole different story. But, this is the first step. Winning an easy division. Then, Jared Goff could work some magic in the playoffs and get to the Super Bowl, then get carried by Amon-Ra St. Brown for the win. Simple as that. In fact, I say that the team that meets the Lions in the Super Bowl, will not be the Chiefs.
MLB
Texas Rangers vs Arizona Diamondbacks. Who would have ever thought this would be the matchup? Well, not me, although I did think earlier that the Dodgers would not be here. Not even in the playoffs. That’s how crazy this 162-game grind is.
The Rangers are winning.
I know. I keep picking against this Diamondbacks team, but this time, I mean it.
The Diamondbacks pitching isn’t that solid, and you can argue that neither is the Rangers. The only good pitcher this postseason for the Diamondbacks is Brandon Pfaadt.
Merrill Kelly had an ERA over 4 in both his starts against the Phillies.
Zac Gallen had an ERA over 7 in both his starts against the Phillies
On the other hand, Brandon Pfaadt had an ERA of less than 2 in both his starts against the Phillies.
The Rangers didn’t have great pitching all series, which is why I won’t list it, but they have such a good offense. All starting with Corey Seager who leads the team in batting average and OBP. Next is all the other categories where Adolis Garcia leads the team. He leads the team in home runs, RBIs, and hits. Not to mention what Josh Jung is doing with 13 hits. This team can’t stop getting hits (and strikeouts). Yes, this team can’t stop striking out. Guess who leads that? Nathaniel Lowe. Guess who’s 2nd? Adolis Garcia.
The Rangers are winning because of offense. The Diamondbacks are losing because of pitching. I don’t even need to compare the Diamondbacks’ stats to this because first, it isn’t anywhere near this, and 2nd, the Diamondbacks’ offense can’t do anything to stop the failure of the pitching here.
NBA
The Bucks. Giannis just signed a 3 year, 168 million dollar extension with the Bucks. Damian Lillard got traded to the Bucks from the Trail Blazers, and although they lost a lot of pieces in the trade, Damian Lillard is a BEAST! Other than Dame and Giannis, look at these guys. Khris Middleton (great defender), Brook Lopez (Another great shooter), Bobby Portis (A great defender and shooter). This may not be the best top 5 in the league, but is definitely very great to do A LOT of damage.
Recapping NBA First Games
We had a few upsets and wins that we all expected coming, but those wins that we expected were actually close. Like the Pistons and the Heat, 102–103. Or if you consider this close, the Clippers and the Trail Blazers 111-123. Here are the final scores of all of yesterday’s basketball games.
Here is the key
WIN = Not an upset. Favored team wins.
UPSET = Yes, upset. Favored team does NOT win.
Hawks vs Hornets 110-116 UPSET
Wizards vs Pacers 120-143 WIN
Rockets vs Magic 86-113 WIN
Celtics vs Knicks 108-104 WIN
Cavaliers vs Nets 114-113 WIN
Timberwolves vs Raptors 94-97 UPSET?
Pistons vs Heat 102-103 WIN BUT TOO CLOSE
Pelicans vs Grizzlies 111-104 WIN
Thunders vs Bulls 124-104 WIN
Kings vs Jazz 130-114 WIN
Mavericks vs Spurs 126-119 WIN
Trail Blazers vs Clippers 111-123 WIN
NFL Top 5 Power Rankings
Eagles
The Eagles defense is amazing. That’s the kind of defense we saw last year, and maybe even better. That's a good sign going forward, especially since Miami has a top-tier offense. Jalen Hurts still doesn't look all the way right, but he's getting there. I say they get an easy victory in Washington, where Jalen Hurts finally looks like that guy. The guy Philadelphia had last year.
Chiefs
They are clicking now on offense, which is the scary thing for the rest of the NFL. They looked like the offense we expect from Patrick Mahomes against the Chargers, really for the first time this season. Next week, the Chiefs have a divisional matchup against the Broncos, which should be an easy win.
Ravens
With all the focus on Lamar Jackson, it's easy to overlook the defense. But that side of the ball has been excellent as well. Their next game is against the Cardinals, which I feel is going to be a tough one for the Ravens, but they’ll still come out with the win. After all, the Ravens couldn’t win against the Steelers or the Colts, both middle-of-the-pack teams, but could win against teams like the Lions who are actual contenders.
Seahawks
This team is quietly 4-2 and would be a playoff team if they started now. They have won four of five, and it could easily be five straight were it not for blown chances at Cincinnati two weeks ago. They’ve faced pretty hard teams so far. Lions, Bengals, Rams? The Seahawks aren’t loud. More silent but deadly.
Browns
The Browns have a great defense. That defense didn’t exactly play well against the Colts and neither did the offense, but it was still an ugly win over the Colts and hey. Wins are wins. Their next opponents are the Seahawks. If the Browns defense has a big day, they can win. Else, this is going to be an easy Seahawks win, especially with the offense it has.
International News of the day!
Rugby. Something anyone can easily compare to Football 2.0. To tell you citizens of the U.S.A. Rugby is not a football 2.0. In fact, American Football is actually a Rugby 2.0. If you don’t agree with me, comment why. I don’t have much time to explain all of this to you. Hahaha.
On September 8th, 2023, the Rugby World Cup began for this year between France and New Zealand. New Zealand, is pretty good at rugby and while browsing on the internet, I found this. Ireland: 82… Romania: 8… Can you believe that kind of score? Imagine that score in football! Anyway, back to my point. New Zealand and South Africa are meeting in the Rugby World Cup final. They were both 2nd in their respective groups, and South Africa barely edged out England to make the finals.
I don’t know much about rugby, so I’m going to leave this link up to you. If you want to read more about the finals.
MLS Cup Playoffs
We have another type of playoffs going on in a topic we don’t normally talk about in this newsletter. MLS Soccer.
Yesterday, the New York Red Bulls took a fat W against Charlotte FC, and Sporting KC took a W against San Jose Earthquakes. This W was taken in penalty kicks. Sporting KC hit 4 and the Earthquakes hit 2.
More News!
Niners QB Brock Purdy in Concussion Protocol
The Top 3 Picks in the NFL Draft Set to Make History!
Astros Manager Dusty Baker RETIRING
Mad Dog Russo Going to Do Something HILARIOUS!
Conclusion
I hope this informed y’all on what you need to know about sports for this weekend. Here are the games you MUST watch this weekend. ALL TIMES PACIFIC. IF YOU ARE ON THE EAST COAST, ADD 3 HOURS!
Friday:
OKC Thunders vs Cleveland Cavaliers on Local Channels at 4:30 P.M. (NBA)
Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics on ESPN at 4:30 P.M (NBA)
LA Kings vs Arizona Coyotes on ESPN+ at 7:00 P.M (NHL)
Saturday
Penn State vs Ohio St on Fox at 12 P.M (College Football)
Oregon vs Utah on Fox at 12:30 P.M. (College Football)
Indiana Pacers vs Cleveland Cavaliers on Local Channels at 4:30 P.M.
Sunday:
Rams vs Cowboys on Fox at 10:00 A.M.
Saints vs Colts on Fox at 10:00 A.M.
Bengals vs 49ers on CBS at 1:25 P.M.
Bears vs Chargers on NBC at 5:20 P.M.
Monday:
Raiders vs Lions on ESPN at 5:15 P.M.