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🐐 Good morning to everyone, but especially to…
GENUS AURIEMMA
You know it’s a special day when we break out the goat emoji — not to mention an actual goat as they did in Storrs! Trainer Gene Auriemma won his 1,217th game on wednesday when UConn knocked Fairleigh Dickinson85-41, passing Stanford’s recently retired Tara VanDerveer for the most wins in Division I basketball history. More than 60 of Auriemma’s former players, including superstars such as Maya Moore Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and Rebecca Lobo, was present
Auriemma, along with associate head coach Chris Daileytook over at UConn in 1985 and turned a struggling program into a powerhouse. The numbers are staggering.
- 11 national titles, the most in DI basketball history.
- 1,217-162 record (.883 win pct), best in DI basketball history
- 22 Final Fours, including a record 14 straight from 2004-17
- Record 111 straight wins from 2014-17.
- Eight Naismith Coach of the Year awards
Lots more wins to come too. Auriemma, 70, signed a five-year extension over the summer, and with Paige Bueckers leading the way, this season’s squad figures to make a run at more hardware for the storied program. Plus, a former top recruit Azzi Profit made her come back from a torn ACL on wednesday
Isabel Gonzalez spoke with several of Auriemma’s former stars, and they speak brilliantly of a legend whose career seems to have no end in sight.
👍 Honorable mentions
🏀 And not such a good morning for…
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THE PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
Things went from bad to worse — and the worst record in the league — for the 76ers. Just over half into Philadelphia’s first game with all three of Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey active, George hyperextends his left knee in an eventual 117-111 loss to the Grizzlies. It’s the same knee George overextended in the preseason that caused him to miss the first two weeks of the regular season.
Philadelphia has lost five straight, falling to 2-12, which officially makes them the worst team in the league. Just a day after Sam Quinn said it was it’s not time to panic yethe says this injury heightens the sense of uneasiness, but it’s still not completely dire — even considering the team’s big three have shared the floor for just six minutes in 14 games. Here’s why:
- Quinn: “Only three of their next nine games are on the road, and only three of their opponents in that span are currently top six seeds in their conference. That includes two games against the. magicstill missing Paolo Bancherowhile the third is the second night of a back-to-back road for the rockets. On paper, this is the moment they absolutely must start stacking gains. If George misses time and they can’t do that, their season might be over before Christmas.”
👎 Not so honorable mentions
⚾ Braves’ Chris Sale, Tigers’ Tarik Skubal win NL, AL Cy Young Awards
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Two lefties, two first-time winners, two pitching Triple Crown winners (wins, ERA, strikeouts), two winding roads to get here. The brave men‘ Chris Sale and the Tigers‘ Pull Skubal won the NL and AL Cy Young Awardsrespectively, as MLB awards season rolls on.
- Sale, 35, won Zack Wheeler and NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes for the prize. He went 18-3 with a 2.83 ERA. He won 26 out of 30 first place votes.
- Sale is the first Braves pitcher to win the award since Tom Glavine in 1998.
- Skubal, 28, was one of MLB’s true breakout stars, with an 18-4 record and a 2.39 ERA. He also led all of MLB with 6.3 Wins Above Replacement. He won all 30 first-place votes — the third straight unanimous AL Cy Young winner — with Seth Lugo finishing second and Emmanuel Class third
- Skubal is Detroit’s first Cy Young winner since Max Scherzer in 2013.
Matt Snyder’s look how both winners got here is amazing
🏈 NFL, CFB QB Power Rankings
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Welcome to the first five, Justin Herbert! The Chargers star, who has been on an absolute heater lately, is No. 5 in Cody Benjamin’s NFL QB Power Rankingsbehind Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen and Jared Goff. Jayden Daniels dropped out of the top five, going from fourth to seventh.
It’s been a long time coming for Herbert, who thrived as the Chargers opened up the playbook during the season. During the team’s four-game winning streak, Herbert ranks top six league-wide in yards passing, yards per attempt, touchdown rate and explosive play rate. As I wrote earlier this week …
- Pereles: “The mobility, the arm strength, the precision, the perfect trajectory. It’s all the *chef kiss.* … Herbert is a Bugatti engine that was stuck in a 1990s Honda Civic early this season. Now, he’s released , and combined with his perennial penchant for avoiding bad plays (one interception all season), the Chargers see terrible plays over and over again.”
In the college ranksthere is a new name at No. 1:
- Shedeur Sanders (previous: 4)
- Jaxson Dart (1)
- Jalen Milroe (3)
- Dillon Gabriel (2)
- LaNorris Sellers (6)
Tom Fornelli explained the Colorado signal jump from caller:
- Oven: “I always talk about scouts and film buffs [NFL Draft potential]and I can tell you that no QB in the country has done more to improve his draft this season than Shedeur. It’s a long time between now and the NFL Draft, but almost everyone has Sanders on their board right now. That wasn’t the case three months ago.”
📺 What we watch on Thursday
🏀 #13 Baylor vs. #22 St. John’s (M)7 pm on CBS Sports Network
🏀 Pistons at Hornets7 pm on NBA TV
🏈 NC State at Georgia Tech7:30 pm on ESPN
🏈 Steelers at Browns20:15 on Prime Video
🏀 Virginia vs. #11 Tennessee (M)9:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
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