Yahoo Sports AM: The Year of the Upset

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🚨 Headlines

⚾️ 36-120: The White Sox lost their 120th game of the season on Sunday, tying the 1962 Mets’ single-season record for the most losses in modern MLB history (since 1901).

🏀 Embiid’s huge extension: Joel Embiid signed a three-year, $193 million extension with the 76ers, expanding his total deal to five years and $299.6 million — the third-richest in NBA history.

⚾️ No 100-win teams: No MLB teams will reach 100 wins this season for the first time since 2014, when the Angels led baseball with 98. The Dodgers (93-63) can come closest with a maximum of 99.

🏒 Jágr’s first goal: Jaromír Jágr, 52, scored the first goal of his 37th professional season on Friday for Rytíři Kladno, the Czech team he’s owned since 2011. The future NHL Hall of Famer plans to retire at the end of this season.

⚾️ A costly gamble: Nationals All-Star CJ Abrams was sent down to the minors after reportedly spending all Thursday night at a casino in Chicago, returning only hours before their Friday afternoon game against the Cubs.

🏈 The Year of the Upset

Underdogs have ruled the roost thus far in the 2024 NFL season, and Sunday was a particularly tough day to be a favorite.

The Year of the Upset: NFL underdogs of at least 5.5 points are now 13-2 against the spread this season, with nine outright wins including four on Sunday from a quartet of teams who had entered the day with a combined 0-8 record.

• Broncos 26, Buccaneers 7: Rookie QB Bo Nix got his first career victory as previously winless Denver handed Tampa Bay its first loss.

• Panthers 36, Raiders 22: Andy Dalton was excellent in place of the benched Bryce Young, throwing for 319 yards and 3 TD in Carolina’s surprising win over the Raiders. Also surprising? That was the first 300-yard, three-touchdown game in the NFL this season.

• Giants 21, Browns 15: Giants rookie Malik Nabers dominated the Browns’ secondary in New York’s win over Cleveland, scoring twice to become the youngest player in NFL history (21 years, 56 days) with two touchdown catches in a game.

• Rams 27, 49ers 24: Los Angeles stunned San Francisco with a fourth-quarter comeback, scoring 13 points in the final six minutes — including the game-winning field goal with two seconds left — to hand the injury-riddled 49ers their second straight loss.

Survivor pool carnage: The most popular pick in Yahoo Sports’ survivor pool* has now lost every week this season, including nearly 70% of remaining entrants getting eliminated on Sunday when the three most popular picks all lost (Buccaneers, Giants, Raiders).

Bettors beware: The fourth- and fifth- most popular picks this week were tonight’s two “Monday Night Football” games: Bengals (-7.5) over Commanders and Bills (-5.5) over Jaguars.

More from Sunday:

• Minny wins again: The Vikings were picked to finish last in the NFC North, but after their blowout 34-7 victory over the Texans they’re now 3-0 with a cumulative score of 85-30. Props to Sam Darnold, who had the second four-touchdown game of his career.

• The champs are still perfect: The Chiefs haven’t played great football so far this season, but the two-time defending champs are nevertheless 3-0 after surviving a late comeback attempt from the Falcons in Sunday night’s 22-17 win.

• Second-longest FG ever: Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey nailed a 65-yard field goal in their loss to the Ravens, the second-longest in NFL history and just one yard shy of Justin Tucker’s record set in 2021.

Scoreboard: It will come as no surprise to you that more underdogs won on Sunday (seven) than favorites (six)

• Underdog won: Broncos 26, Buccaneers 7 // Rams 27, 49ers 24 // Giants 21, Browns 15 // Panthers 36, Raiders 22 // Vikings 34, Texans 7 // Eagles 15, Saints 12 // Packers 30, Titans 14

• Favorite won: Steelers 20, Chargers 10 // Colts 21, Bears 16 // Seahawks 24, Dolphins 3 // Ravens 28, Cowboys 25 // Lions 20, Cardinals 13 // Chiefs 22, Falcons 17

Week 3: Winners and losers | Fantasy booms and busts

*How a survivor pool works: Each week, you select one team that you think will win outright. If they win, you remain in the competition; if they lose, you’re out. The catch: You can’t pick any team more than once.

🌎 The world in photos

Berlin — Carlos Alcaraz defeated Taylor Fritz on Sunday to clinch Team Europe’s first Laver Cup victory over Team World since 2021. It was the end of an era for former rivals Björn Borg and John McEnroe, who are stepping down as team captains.

Singapore — Lando Norris dominated Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix, cutting Max Verstappen’s lead to 52 points and extending McLaren’s lead over Red Bull to 41 with six races left in the F1 season.

Milan — USMNT star Christian Pulisic scored the first goal in Milan’s 2-1 win over Inter, helping snap their six-game losing streak in the Derby della Madonnina.

Surrey, England — Billy Horschel clinched the BMW PGA Championship with a 30-foot eagle putt on the second playoff hole, which is perhaps unsurprising after he made 130 feet of putts for seven straight birdies one day earlier. The playoff loser? Rory McIlroy. Tough season.

London — Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) knocked out Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) in the fifth round at Wembley Stadium, retaining his heavyweight title and eliminating any doubt about his status as an elite-level boxer.

🏀 Wilson, Clark named unanimous MVP, ROY

A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark earned unanimous honors as this year’s WNBA MVP and Rookie of the Year, with the awards announced on Sunday just before the first round of the playoffs began.

• Wilson, who joins Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson as three-time winners, is just the second unanimous MVP in league history (Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, 1997).

• Clark, who also finished fourth for MVP, is the sixth unanimous ROY.

All-WNBA teams: Wilson and Clark also headlined the All-WNBA first team, with Clark being the first rookie to capture that honor since Candace Parker in 2008.

• First team: Wilson (Aces), Clark (Fever), Napheesa Collier (Lynx), Breanna Stewart (Liberty) and Alyssa Thomas (Sun).

• Second team: Sabrina Ionescu (Liberty), Kahleah Copper (Mercury), Nneka Ogwumike (Storm), Kayla McBride (Lynx) and Arike Ogunbowale (Wings).

• All-rookie team: Clark, Angel Reese (Sky), Kamilla Cardoso (Sky), Leonie Fiebich (Liberty) and Rickea Jackson (Sparks).

More awards: The Lynx duo of Collier and Cheryl Reeve won Defensive Player and Coach of the Year, Aces guard Tiffany Hayes won Sixth Woman, Sparks forward Dearica Hamby won Most Improved and Storm guard Skylar Diggins-Smith won Comeback Player.

Sunday scoreboard: All four favorites took care of business in their playoff openers, putting them each one win away from reaching the semifinals.

• Aces 78, Storm 67: Wilson put up 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks for the two-time defending champs.

• Sun 93, Fever 69: Thomas had a triple-double (12 pts, 10 reb, 13 ast), while Clark struggled in her postseason debut (11 points on 4-17 shooting) in the blowout loss.

• Liberty 83, Dream 69: Stewart (20 pts, 11 reb) and Ionescu (17 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast) led the No. 1 seed to a stress-free win.

• Lynx 102, Mercury 95: Collier erupted for 38 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in a game that was much closer than expected.

Further reading: WNBA playoff takeaways

🏈 AP Poll: Vols and Wolverines climb the ladder

Tennessee and Michigan made big moves in this week’s AP Top 25, with the Vols climbing into the top five — which otherwise remained unchanged — and the Wolverines jumping six spots after an epic last-minute victory.

• No. 5 Tennessee welcomed Oklahoma to the SEC with a 25-15 road win, dropping the Sooners six spots to No. 21.

• No. 12 Michigan scored on fourth-and-goal with 37 seconds left for a 27-24 win over USC, making the Wolverines the highest-ranked one-loss team in the nation as they leapfrogged the No. 13 Trojans.

More from Week 4:

• Cougars up, Wildcats down: BYU entered the rankings at No. 22 after annihilating then-No. 13 Kansas State, 38-9. The Wildcats’ 10-spot fall to No. 23 was the biggest of the week.

• 120-point slugfest: James Madison beat UNC, 70-50, in the wildest game of the weekend as the Dukes scored a school-record 53 points in the first half and Tar Heels coach Mack Brown offered to step down after taking the blame for the loss.

• Buffs win thriller: Shedeur Sanders tossed a game-tying Hail Mary against Baylor to force overtime, where Colorado clinched a 38-31 victory on Travis Hunter’s forced fumble in the end zone.

• Near-record kick: Temple’s Maddux Trujillo hit a 64-yard field goal in the Owls’ win over Utah State, the longest in college football since 2008 and one yard shy of the FBS record.

Read: Winners and losers | Listen: College Football Power Hour

📆 Sept. 23, 1988: Canseco creates the 40-40 club

36 years ago today, José Canseco became the first player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season.

What a year: The 23-year-old right fielder won MVP that season, finishing the year with an MLB-best 42 HR and 124 RBI for the 104-win A’s, who lost to the Dodgers in the World Series.

• He stole exactly 40 bases, tied for 12th most that season. But among the 13 men who stole 40 bags, no one else hit more than 13 HR.

• For his career, Canseco blasted 462 home runs (tied for 38th all-time) and stole 200 bases (tied for 364th).

The 40-40 club: Just five more players have joined Canseco since, including one in each of the last two seasons.

• Canseco: 42 HR, 40 SB (1988, A’s)

• Barry Bonds: 42 HR, 40 SB (1996, Giants)

• Alex Rodriguez: 42 HR, 46 SB (1998, Mariners)

• Alfonso Soriano: 46 HR, 41 SB (2006, Nationals)

• Ronald Acuña Jr.: 41 HR, 73 SB (2023, Braves)

• Shohei Ohtani*: 53 HR, 55 SB and counting (2024, Dodgers)

What to watch: Guardians third baseman José Ramírez might join the club in the final week of the season, as he’s sitting on 37 homers and 40 steals with five games left.

*Fastest ever: Ohtani reached 40-40 in just 126 games, 21 fewer than anyone else, and he did it by hitting a walk-off grand slam in the same game he’d already stolen his 40th base. And then of course he created the 50-50 club with the best offensive performance in MLB history.

📺 Watchlist: NFL doubleheader

The NFL’s Week 3 slate ends tonight with a double dose of “Monday Night Football.”

• Jaguars* at Bills (7:30pm ET, ESPN): BUF -5.5 | O/U 45.5 | BUF -250, JAX +200 (via BetMGM)

• Commanders at Bengals* (8:15pm, ABC): CIN -7.5 | O/U 47 | CIN -350, WSH +280

More to watch:

• ⚾️ MLB: Giants at Diamondbacks or Mariners at Astros (9:30pm, MLB)

• ⚽️ NWSL: Angel City vs. Portland (10pm, CBSSN)

*Must-win games: The Jaguars and Bengals, both currently 0-2, have combined to start 21 seasons 0-3 — and missed the playoffs in every single one of them.

⚽️ Soccer trivia

Erling Haaland scored his 100th goal for Manchester City on Sunday in his 105th game with the club, tied for the quickest to the century mark in European soccer history.

Question: Who did he tie?

Hint: He did it this century for a Spanish club.

Answer at the bottom.

⚾️ Ohtani is still on fire

Shohei Ohtani had maybe the best single-game offensive performance in MLB history on Thursday. He hasn’t slowed down much since.

By the numbers: In three games since his 6-for-6, three-homer masterpiece, he’s gone 8-12 with two homers, four steals, five runs and three RBI, including a game-tying blast in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday.

With a week left, he’s at 53 home runs and 55 steals while batting .301 with a 1.023 OPS. Pretty good!

Trivia answer: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

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