This Month in Sports

This past month, the sports season has been eventful. With the start of college football, Alabama, commanded by Nick Saban and Tua Tagovailoa, remains the clear team-to-beat and the SEC dominates the top 25 (Alabama #1, Georgia #2, LSU #5, Auburn #10, Kentucky #17, Mississippi State #23). However, since it is still early in the season, making it to the championship is anyone’s game. Over the next month, make sure to pay attention to these games: Oklahoma vs. Texas (10/6), Auburn vs. Mississippi State (10/6), LSU vs. Georgia (10/13), Michigan vs. Wisconsin (10/13), Michigan State vs. Penn State (10/13), Washington vs. Oregon (10/13), Michigan vs. Michigan State (10/20), Mississippi State vs. LSU (10/20), and Washington vs. Cal (10/27).

In baseball, the MLB playoffs kick off this October, with the wild card rounds beginning October 2nd and 3rd. The Red Sox, Indians, Cubs and Braves clinch their divisions while the Astros clinch a playoff berth and the Yankees clinch a wild-card spot. The next couple weeks will be a fight for playoff spots, so stay tuned.

The NFL kicked off this September and has yet to disappoint. The Los Angeles Rams are the clear front runners this year. On offense, they dominate the running game with Todd Gurley II as well as the passing game with Jared Goff, Branding Cooks, and Robert Woods. On defense, they are even more threatening, with Ndamukong Suh and Aaron Donald on the defensive line, Cory Littleton as linebacker, and Aqib Talib as cornerback. While the Rams defense is threatening in its own right, the Chicago Bears addition of Khalil Mack, now the highest paid defensive player, has significantly improved their defense to one of the best in the league (which has helped my fantasy football team tremendously). Perhaps the biggest surprises this month have been Patrick Mahomes and Ryan Fitzpatrick, both leading their teams against all odds to undefeated starts. Even more surprising was the end of the Browns nineteen-game losing streak against the Jets, led by Baker Mayfield. Stay tuned to see how the ensuing weeks dictate the playoffs.

Finally, the NBA returns this October 16th with Philadelphia at Boston, a rematch of the Eastern Conference semifinals, and Oklahoma City at Golden State, a good rivalry game. Make sure to look out for the Lakers under Lebron and the new and improved Mavericks as potential threats going in to the season.

—Jack Markert ‘19