Big reputation

The GIST: Absolutely jaw-dropping double plays, historic extra-innings showdowns, clutch pitching…how can you not be romantic about baseball? October’s already given us plenty of magical moments — here’s where things stand with trips to the World Series on the line.

💙 Defending champ LA Dodgers silence Milwaukee Brewers, lead series 2-0: The Blue Crew stole two games on the road in Milwaukee, hanging on for Monday’s 2–1 Game 1 win before slugging their way to last night’s 5–1 Game 2 victory. That’s right, two more Ws and the Dodgers will return to the World Series for the third time in six seasons.

• Key to their success so far? Lights-out pitching. Dodgers starters Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto went eight and a complete game nine innings, respectively, keeping the Brewers’ offense at bay. See if Milwaukee packs their bats with Game 3 on deck in LA tomorrow at 6:08 p.m. ET.

🔱 Seattle Mariners two wins away from first-ever World Series appearance: From Humpy the Salmon mascot to infielder Jorge Polanco, a collection of clutch plays have the M’s up 2-0 in their American League Championship Series (ALCS) vs. the Toronto Blue Jays. Seattle’s blasted four home runs compared to typically hot-hitting Toronto’s one so far, a surefire way to win ball games.

• That said, homers might be hard to come by in tonight’s 8:08 p.m. ET Game 3 as the Jays send veteran pitcher Shane Bieber to the mound while the Mariners counter with their ace, righthander George Kirby. So seated.

The GIST: The college football coaching carousel kicked into high gear on Sunday when Penn State fired head coach James Franklin following three straight losses: a double-overtime heartbreaker against No. 8 Oregon, then back-to-back upsets at the hands of Big Ten bottom-feeders UCLA and Northwestern. Everyone’s buzzing about his ouster, and not just because of the $50M buyout.

• After coming within one play of last year’s College Football Playoff (CFP) national title game, the Nittany Lions landed the preseason No. 2 spot — making their 3-3 start, subsequent fall from the AP Top 25, and Franklin’s axing all the more shocking. Let’s discuss.

‼️ Franklin’s big-game reputation: He’s tied for Penn State’s second-winningest coach, going 104-45 across his over 11-year tenure in Happy Valley and becoming a perennial contender in the cutthroat Big Ten. But Franklin’s notorious for losing on the sport’s biggest stages: He posted just a 4-21 record against top-10 teams and has now lost 15 straight against top-six opponents. Woof.

• Last year’s goal line stumbles in the Big Ten Championship and the CFP semifinals solidified his reputation for failing to get over the hump — so when the aforementioned three-game catastrophe hit, frustrated fans were more than ready to call for his job.

👀 Did he deserve to be fired?: That’s up for debate. Franklin turned this program from a dumpster fire to a CFP semifinalist, reaching double-digit wins (the mark of a great year in college football) in six of 11 seasons, so his unceremonious midseason canning feels harsh. Plenty of players and alum have voiced their support for him.

• But on the other hand, winning at the highest level has never mattered more. If you’re going to be known as the guy who can’t win the big ones, you can’t also lose the small ones — especially as one of the highest-paid coaches in the game.

⚡ Your NFL Sunday takes deserve a leaderboard. Just ask Dawn, who trusted their gut, called the upsets, and topped last week’s NFL Pick’ems Challenge leaderboard to pocket $100 in GIST swag. Talk about a touchdown.

• Whether you’re an NFL genius, an exceptional guesser, or just in it for the halftime snacks, everyone’s welcome here. Just pick the winners of this week’s matchups, lock ’em in, and keep an eye on the leaderboard. It really is that easy.

📢 But it’s not just a sprint; it’s also a marathon. Here’s who’s topping the season-long leaderboard:

🥇 Joshua

🥈 Barry

🥉 Rachel

☝️ Deadline reminder: Picks close tomorrow at 8:15 p.m. ET, right before the kickoff of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals game. It pays to be punctual…literally.

🏒 NHL: Florida Panthers vs. Detroit Red Wings — Tonight at 7 p.m ET — TNT

• No Aleksander Barkov or Matthew Tkachuk, no problem for the Cats, whose quest for a threepeat is off to a ferocious start despite their best forwards being sidelined with injury. A whopping 11 players have tallied at least two points in their absence, proving that teamwork really does make the dream work.

🎓⚽ NCAA women’s soccer: No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 7 Florida State — Tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET — ACCN

• If you’re craving mid-week footy, you’re in for a treat: This heavyweight battle features the Cardinal, who took down then–No. 1 Virginia on Sunday, and FSU, who are dressed for revenge after last week’s heartbreaking loss to now–No. 1 Notre Dame.

🏈 NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals — Tomorrow at 8:15 p.m. ET — Prime Video

• This primetime tilt is all about the numbers — specifically the ages of the Super Bowl MVP–winning quarterbacks who’ll go head-to-head: Pittsburgh’s 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers and Cincy’s 40-year-old Joe Flacco. Which vet will you go with in our free-to-play NFL Pick’ems Challenge?