He had dumps like a truck, truck, truck

The GIST: Forget the Jo Bros, this weekend is all about WNBA hoops. Game 3s will grace our screens tonight, followed by a double dose of Game 4s on Sunday. Yes, with both best-of-five series knotted at one, that means the Finals matchup could be set before our next newsletter. Burnin’ up.

🃏 Las Vegas Aces vs. 🥵 Indiana Fever — Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET: This series started with back-to-back lopsided games in Vegas, featuring a disparity in superstar productivity. In the Fever’s convincing Game 1 win, Indy guard Kelsey Mitchell exploded for a playoff career-high 34 points, while the Aces’ four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson was held to just 16 points.

• Game 2 was an entirely different story: Wilson put up 25 points alongside a playoff career-high five steals, and Mitchell managed only 13 points. Sure, playoff games aren’t won singlehandedly, but a team’s top player can define the series, for better or for worse.

🐱 Minnesota Lynx vs. 🪐 Phoenix Mercury — Tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET: The Mercury’s 20-point Game 2 comeback flipped this series on its head. And while Phoenix proved resilient, the Lynx’s lack of composure in the second half — including a pivotal 65-second third-quarter stretch featuring four (of their 17) turnovers — was uncharacteristic.

• Now, momentum is squarely with the Mercury, especially with the next two games in Arizona. Both teams boast depth, defense, and star power, meaning Game 3 will come down to execution…just like the second half of Game 2. Pop that corn.

The GIST: Thirty thrilling matches later, the record-breaking stage is set for tomorrow’s 11 a.m. ET Women’s Rugby World Cup championship match between world No. 1 England and No. 2 Canada. An immovable object meeting an unstoppable force? We’re so ready to ruck and roll.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England dominate international play: The Red Roses’ 32-match win streak isn’t an accident — they’re a well-oiled winning machine. The English are physical in their attack and surgical in their set pieces (aka when the game restarts after a stoppage). Not to mention, 12 of their 15 starting players competed in England’s last World Cup final run…and they’re dressed for revenge.

🇨🇦 Canada on the cusp of history: Arguably the best Canadian rugby team ever assembled, the well-prepared Canucks are making their second World Cup final appearance and first since a heartbreaking 2014 loss to the Red Roses. Their style of rugby is best described as rapid-fire: This team plays fast, using spectacular offloads to capitalize on a roster chock-full of talent.

☝️ One more thing: Not only is this a meeting of the world’s top two teams, but it’ll also feature two of the most electric players on the planet: English inside center Meg Jones and Canadian lock Sophie de Goede, two of the three finalists for World Rugby Player of the Year. Consider us sat.

The GIST: The still-chaotic push for the MLB playoffs — and toward our men’s pro baseball bracket challenge — continues ahead of Sunday’s regular-season finale. That said, a different race is grabbing headlines, with Seattle Mariners superstar Cal Raleigh chasing NY Yankees slugger Aaron Judge’s single-season American League (AL) home run record.

• And that’s not all they’re swinging for: Raleigh and Judge are at the center of a closely contested campaign for AL MVP. Lucky for us, the hits just keep coming.

🔱 Raleigh sits at 60 home runs, two shy of Judge’s 2022 record: The Big Dumper deposited his 60th dinger of the season in Wednesday’s 9–2 American League West–clinching win over the Colorado Rockies. Sixty in a season is impressive alone, especially for a catcher, amid a breakout season that included winning the Home Run Derby and breaking record after record along the way.

• But Raleigh has his sizable posterior geared toward a little history, as he’s within striking distance of Judge’s astounding AL record of 62 home runs with three games to go.

👀 MVP race remains too close to call: Boasting a league-best .330 batting average, Judge was the favorite to defend his AL MVP crown…until Raleigh’s recent surge extended his MLB–leading home run total and flipped the odds in his favor. Both boppers still have three games remaining to make their cases. Batter up, baby.

🎓🏈 NCAA football: No. 6 Oregon Ducks vs. No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions — Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. ET — NBC

• The Week 5 schedule is jam-packed with gotcha games, but this one is a true blockbuster. It’s a rematch of last year’s high-octane Big Ten Championship (which Oregon won), perfect for the rowdiest environment in college football: Penn State’s annual White Out Game. Preemptive chills.

⚽ NWSL: Houston Dash vs. Washington Spirit — Sunday at 1 p.m. ET — Paramount+

• The NWSL table is tight as ever, but one team can clinch a playoff spot and join the already advanced Kansas City Current this weekend: the second-place Spirit, who could secure their place in the postseason with a win over the Dash.

🎓🏐 NCAA volleyball: No. 11 SMU Mustangs vs. No. 5 Pitt Panthers — Sunday at 3 p.m. ET — ESPN

• These teams have some history: Then–No. 1 Pitt had dropped just one set in 15 matches when the Mustangs stunned them with a five-set takedown last year. Then Wednesday’s showdown in Dallas was just as thrilling, with the Panthers coming out on top. No wonder they’re showing this one on ESPN.

🏈 NFL: Green Bay Packers vs. Dallas Cowboys — Sunday at 8:20 p.m. ET — NBC

• While the Week 4 NFL slate will bring plenty of fun (including tomorrow’s Dublin throwdown), the tension will be palpable during Sunday Night Football. ICYMI, elite pass rusher Micah Parsons was traded from the Cowboys to the Packers in August after failed contract negotiations — and he’s thriving with his new squad. Oop.

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