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| Presented By The Power Rank |
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| Axios Sports |
| By Kendall Baker ·Sep 09, 2021 |
| 👋 Good morning! The NFL is back, baby. 🏈 Season kickoff: The Cowboys visit the Buccaneers in Tampa (8:20pm ET, NBC), where the average ticket price is $582, per Vivid Seats. Today's word count: 1,544 words (6 minutes). Let's sports... |
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| 1 big thing: ⚽️ Pepi plays the hero |
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| Ricardo Pepi after scoring to put the USMNT ahead. Photo: Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images |
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| The USMNT avoided disaster Wednesday night, rebounding from an abysmal first half with a remarkable one to beat Honduras, 4-1, and turn its World Cup Qualifying fortunes around. - First half: Honduras led 1-0 after 45 minutes, with the Americans failing to register a shot on goal while looking out of sync in a new 3-4-3 formation. Everyone on Twitter was freaking out, me included.
- Second half: Coach Gregg Berhalter made adjustments at halftime, shifting to a more customary 4-3-3 and bringing on Antonee Robinson, Brendan Aaronson and Sebastian Lletget — all three of whom scored.
Man of the match: 18-year-old Ricardo Pepi, a dual-national who committed to the program mere weeks ago, helped set up three goals and scored the winner in his USMNT debut. - The El Paso-born striker chose to play for the U.S. over Mexico because "this country [gave] me and my family a home, and endless possibilities to achieve my dreams," he wrote on Aug. 26.
- "It has supported me, it has lifted me up and it has shown me when you work hard you will be rewarded."
Of note: This is just the second time in 41 qualifying matches that the USMNT has won after trailing at intermission. The big picture: All eight CONCACAF teams have now played three matches (of 14). The top three finishers qualify for the World Cup, while the fourth will enter an intercontinental playoff. - 🇲🇽 Mexico: 2-1-0 (7 pts)
- 🇨🇦 Canada: 1-2-0 (5 pts)
- 🇺🇸 USA: 1-2-0 (5 pts)
- 🇵🇦 Panama: 1-2-0 (5 pts)
- 🇨🇷 Costa Rica: 0-2-1 (2 pts)
- 🇭🇳 Honduras: 0-2-1 (2 pts)
- 🇸🇻 El Salvador: 0-2-1 (2 pts)
- 🇯🇲 Jamaica: 0-1-2 (1 pt)
What's next: The U.S. will host Jamaica (Oct. 7) and Costa Rica (Oct. 13) and travel to Panama (Oct. 10) next month. Most notably, Mexico comes to town on Nov. 12. 🎥 Watch: Highlights (Twitter) |
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| 2. 🎾 U.S. Open: Bring on the semifinals |
| Photo: Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images Men's: Novak Djokovic won his career-best 11th straight quarterfinal match on Wednesday and is now two wins away from the Calendar Slam. We're witnessing history, folks. Don't miss it. - Tomorrow, TBD: No. 12 Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. No. 2 Daniil Medvedev
- Tomorrow, TBD: No. 1 Djokovic vs. No. 4 Alexander Zverev (a rematch of the Olympic semifinals, which Zverev won)
Photo: Elsa/Getty Images Women's: Emma Raducanu, 18, continued her magical run, becoming the first qualifier ever (male or female) to reach the U.S. Open semifinals. She has yet to drop a set in New York. - Today, 7pm ET: Leylah Fernandez vs. No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka
- Today, 8:15pm: Raducanu vs. No. 17 Maria Sakkari
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| 3. 🏈 "America's Team" is also its most valuable |
 Data: Sportico; Chart: Axios Visuals The Cowboys top Sportico's annual NFL valuations list at $6.92 billion, making them North America's most valuable sports franchise, just ahead of the Yankees at $6.75 billion (subscription). The big picture: The average NFL team is worth $3.5 billion, up 13% from last year. Thanks to lucrative new TV deals, not a single team lost value from 2020 despite attendance dropping 93% amid COVID restrictions. - Biggest risers: Broncos and Seahawks (up three spots from 2020)
- Biggest fallers: Jaguars (down four), Dolphins (down three), Packers (down three)
What to watch: The Broncos are widely expected to hit the market after this season. The franchise was put in a trust in 2014 by late owner Pat Bowlen, and his seven children can't settle on a successor. |
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| A message from The Power Rank |
| Here's how to bet like a pro this college football season |
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| Your sports betting is missing one thing — predictive analytics from The Power Rank, the smart and concise newsletter that you need to make better bets. Why it's important: NFL predictions alone went 53.4% against the spread over the past two seasons Get your sports betting information – free. |
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| 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |
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| Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford high-fiving. Photo: Dustin Bradford/Getty Images |
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| ⚾️ Comeback kids: The Giants rallied Wednesday for their MLB-best eighth win in which they trailed in the 9th inning or later. They're now an MLB-best 90-50, the fastest they've reached 90 wins in 100 years. 🏈 College football ratings: Five games averaged 5+ million viewers last week, the most for a Week 1 since 2016, per Sports Media Watch. Georgia-Clemson (8.8M on ABC) drew the most viewers, as expected. 🥎 WCWS expands: The Women's College World Series will expand to a nine-day event in 2022, adding two days and eliminating the need for doubleheaders for teams that lose on the first day. 🏁 Schumacher update: F1 legend Michael Schumacher's wife, Corinna, has offered a rare update after his 2013 brain injury. "Michael is here. Different, but he's here," she says in an upcoming Netflix doc. |
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| 5. 🇺🇸 Meet Team USA: Ryder Cup squad finalized |
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| Fans cheer during the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine in Chaska, Minn. Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images |
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| The U.S. Ryder Cup team is complete, with captain Steve Stricker finalizing his squad two weeks ahead of the biennial event at Whistling Straits (Haven, Wisconsin). Automatic spots: Six players qualified based on a cumulative points system linked to recent performances. - Patrick Cantlay (Long Beach, California)
- Bryson DeChambeau (Clovis, California)
- Dustin Johnson (Columbia, South Carolina)
- Brooks Koepka (West Palm Beach, Florida)
- Collin Morikawa (Los Angeles)
- Justin Thomas (Louisville)
Captain's picks: Stricker announced his six picks on Wednesday, notably leaving out Patrick Reed and going with four Ryder Cup rookies. - Daniel Berger (Jupiter, Florida)
- Harris English (Valdosta, Georgia)
- Tony Finau (Salt Lake City)
- Xander Schauffele (San Diego)
- Scottie Scheffler (Dallas)
- Jordan Spieth (Dallas)
The big picture: The Ryder Cup dates back to 1927, and the U.S. leads the all-time series, 26-14. But Europe has won 10 of the past 16 editions (including 2018 in France), often by lopsided scores. What's next: European captain Padraig Harrington will complete his roster after this weekend's BMW PGA Championship in England. |
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| 6. 📸 Exclusive: Behind the camera |
| Getty Images photographers picked their favorite photos from the Paralympics' final week and provided commentary on how they got the shot. Photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images Caption: Team USA's Ezra Frech competes in the men's high jump. "I love how Frech appears to be looking straight down my lens. It's a peak action moment, but also conveys a level of quietness and stillness. This was my first time covering high jump, and it was a lot more difficult than I expected, so I was very pleased to get this frame!" — Alex Pantling Photo: Buda Mendes/Getty Images Caption: Team Australia's Na Li Lei serves during a women's table tennis singles match. "Taking advantage of the dark environment, I thought of the multiple exposure feature. Like athletes taking chances during play, risking different camera features, compositions and shutter speeds is fundamental to our profession and can pay off creatively." — Buda Mendes Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Image Caption: Team Hungary's Eva Andrea Hajmasi reacts following her win in the women's team foil bronze medal match. "To get reaction shots, you have to make a choice on where you think the athlete may look in the heat of the moment. Thankfully, Hajmasi reacted towards her teammates as I had hoped, but in an even bigger way. The raw emotion is evident and showcases the beauty of sport." — Carmen Mandato |
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| Bonus: 📸 My favorite photo |
| Photo: Adam Pretty/Getty Images Caption: Team USA's Hannah Aspden competes in the women's 200m individual medley. "Just incredible." — Me |
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| 7. 🏈 NFL player rankings: Aaron Rodgers (No. 3) |
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| Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images |
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| The NFL season is fast approaching. While we eagerly await its arrival, we're counting down the league's top 20 players. - Player: Aaron Rodgers, QB (Packers)
- Age: 37
- College: California
- Contract: 4 years, $134M (FA in 2023)
- 2020 stats: 4,299 passing yards, 48 TD, 5 INT
- 2021 fantasy: No. 47 ADP (average draft position)
- Week 1: Packers at Saints
The big picture: After the Packers took Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 draft, Rodgers responded by (easily) winning MVP — and then skipping the offseason program. - By the numbers: Over the past two regular seasons, Rodgers leads all QBs in games won as a starter (26) and his TD-to-INT ratio (8.22) is by far the best in the NFL.
- Wild stat: Despite ranking 11th all-time in passing yards and seventh all-time in passing TD, Rodgers has thrown double-digit picks in a season just twice (13 in 2008; 11 in 2010).
What they're saying: "There's probably never been someone who can throw the ball like he does," a veteran NFL QB told ESPN (subscription). "It's effortless, a Marino release; only he can do it while rolling to his left." ICYMI: 20. Dalvin Cook; 19. Trent Williams; 18. Bobby Wagner; 17. Tyreek Hill; 16. Jaire Alexander; 15. Stefon Diggs; 14. Myles Garrett; 13. Jalen Ramsey; 12. George Kittle; 11. Josh Allen; 10. Russell Wilson; 9. T.J. Watt; 8. Derrick Henry; 7. Quenton Nelson; 6. Davante Adams; 5. Travis Kelce; 4. Tom Brady |
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| 8. 📆 Sept. 9, 2017: Stephens wins U.S. Open |
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| Photo: Elsa/Getty Images |
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| Four years ago today, unseeded Sloane Stephens won the U.S. Open, beating friend Madison Keys in the first all-American final since 2002. Why it matters: Stephens is one of five Americans to win the U.S. Open this century, joining Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Andy Roddick and Pete Sampras. - She's one of just four Black women to win a Grand Slam, following Althea Gibson and the Williams sisters.
- Stephens had started the year with a broken foot and fell so far down the rankings that she entered the U.S. Open unseeded.
The big picture: This remains the most recent U.S. Open title by an American, a streak that will continue for at least one more year. |
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| 9. ⚾️ MLB trivia |
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| Derek Jeter (L), Larry Walker and Ted Simmons. Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images |
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| Derek Jeter, now forever enshrined in Cooperstown, ranks second all-time in defensive games played at shortstop (2,674). - Question: Who's the only active player in the top 50?
- Hint: He's spent his entire career in the same division.
Answer at the bottom. |
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| 10. 🎓 1 college thing: Old man on campus |
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| Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios |
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| Since the 2020 season didn't count towards eligibility, college football has a group of seventh-year seniors this season — some as old as 25. What they're saying: "I played with Jared Goff, that's how old I am," said super-super senior Luc Bequette, who spent five years at Cal, transferred to Boston College last year when the Pac-12 season was briefly canceled, then transferred back to Cal. Go deeper: Meet college football's super-super seniors (The Athletic) |
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| A message from The Power Rank |
| Bet like a Stanford-educated PhD |
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| For NFL and college football fans, it's almost that time again: time to watch games and place a bunch of wagers. The difference this year? You have access to The Power Rank, the sports newsletter outfitted with predictive analytics from Stanford-educated Dr. Ed Feng. Sign up now. |
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| Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Yeah Jeets" Baker Trivia answer: Elvis Andrus (1,755 games, 39th all-time) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: @thekendallbaker. |
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