| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Oct 12, 2021 | | 👋 Good morning! Three more playoff baseball games today. Plus, the NHL is back!!! Today's word count: 1,607 words (6 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🏈 Gruden's gone |  | | | Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images | | | | On Friday morning, Jon Gruden was the enigmatic head coach of the 3-1 Las Vegas Raiders. By Monday night, he had resigned in disgrace. Driving the news: Gruden's departure came an hour after NYT reported that he'd used graphic homophobic and misogynistic language in emails spanning several years. "I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone." Details: In the emails, Gruden called NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a "faggot" and a "clueless anti football pussy," and said he shouldn't have pressured Jeff Fisher to draft "queers" — a reference to Michael Sam. - Gruden also denounced women referees and anthem protests in the email exchanges, which took place over a seven-year period before he signed a 10-year, $100 million deal with the Raiders in 2018.
- The emails were sent to Bruce Allen, former president of the Washington Football Team, and others, while Gruden was working as a "Monday Night Football" analyst for ESPN.
- Monday's fireworks came just days after it was revealed that Gruden had used a racist trope in a 2011 email to Allen while describing NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith.
Between the lines: These emails were uncovered during the NFL's investigation into the "very toxic" workplace culture of the Washington Football Team that ended this summer. - 650,000 emails were reviewed, but only Gruden's have been made public and we have no written report about what happened in Washington (where Jon's brother, Jay, used to coach).
- The NFL fined the team $10 million and owner Daniel Snyder was shelved for a while, but details about the investigation have not been released. Perhaps that changes in the coming weeks.
The last word, via Smith: "The powerful in our business have to embrace that football itself has to be better, as opposed to making excuses to maintain the status quo." |     | | | | | | 2. 🏒 NHL puck drop: Unleash the Kraken |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | The NHL season begins tonight with an ESPN double-header featuring the two-time defending champion Lightning and the debut of the expansion Seattle Kraken. - 7:30pm ET: Penguins at Lightning
- 10pm: Kraken at Golden Knights
The big picture: There will be 153 nationally-televised games this year, an uptick from previous seasons. Disney will air 103 games across ESPN, ESPN+, Hulu and ABC, while Turner will air 50 games on TNT.  Data: DraftKings Sportsbook; Table: Kavya Beheraj/Axios Go deeper: Storylines to follow (FiveThirtyEight) | | | | | | | | 3. 🇺🇸 Exclusive: Youth sports inflection point |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | Youth sports in America have been put through the wringer amid the pandemic, and while accessibility and participation are starting to rebound, there's still work to be done, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. State of play: 47% of kids have returned to their pre-pandemic level of play and 17% are more active than they were pre-pandemic, per the Aspen Institute's State of Play report, which surveys youth sports parents. - Yes, but: 28% of kids who played sports pre-pandemic are no longer interested, an increase from 19% five months ago.
- In other words, while nearly half of kids have returned to youth sports normalcy, the pool of kids who've lost interest in sports is growing larger.
By the numbers: The report's findings are vast and varied, with data split between promising and troubling. - Obesity among American children increased during the pandemic, from 19% to 22%, per the CDC.
- 25% of parents reported their children's mental health decreased during the pandemic, while 49% said it improved once restrictions were lifted and they could return to sports.
- Some good news from 2020: More youth did something physically active. 14% of young kids (6–12) and 15% of teens (13–17) failed to engage in sports last year, down from 17% and 18%, respectively, in 2019.
Between the lines: Outdoor activities were able to safely return sooner than indoor sports, which resulted in a flock of new participants. - Basketball led the way, with 21% of parents saying their kids tried hoops for the first time during the pandemic. A good portion of that was thanks to the prevalence of outdoor courts.
- Other sports that at least 10% of kids sampled for the first time: Baseball (16%), cycling (12%), swimming (11%) and soccer (10%).
The last word, from Tom Cove, president and CEO of the Sports & Fitness Industry Association: "We're at an inflection moment of sports in America. Will we take some of the love of sport and thirst for activity and build on it to get more participating?" | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Keep up with your home team with Axios Local | | |  | | | | Get a daily digest of what's happening in your hometown with Axios Local newsletters. Local reporters will deliver the latest news and insights on sports, politics, and more. Subscribe for free. | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Photo: Grant Halverson/Getty Images | | | | ⛳️ J.R.'s debut: Former NBA star J.R. Smith made his college golf debut for North Carolina A&T on Monday, shooting an 83 at the Phoenix Invitational hosted by Elon University. 🏀 Simmons saga: After staying away for two weeks and being fined over $1 million, Ben Simmons has reported to the 76ers. How did the team find out? GM Elton Brand reportedly got a text, "Hey, Ben is outside..." 🇩🇪 Ticket punched: Germany is the first team to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, joining host Qatar. The Germans have qualified for 18 straight World Cups, trailing only Brazil (21). 🏈 Canes lose King: Miami QB D'Eriq King is out for the year (shoulder surgery). The Houston transfer could return for a seventh season. | | | | | | | | 5. ⚾️ Fenway Magic: Red Sox advance |  | | | Photo: Winslow Townson/Getty Images | | | | Red-hot Kiké Hernández hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to lift the Red Sox past the Rays, 6-5, and into the ALCS. The big picture: This is the fourth time a team has made the LCS the season after finishing last in their division. The last team to do so? The 2013 Red Sox, who won the World Series. - That's two straight postseason walk-offs for Boston. The only other time that's happened? David Ortiz's heroics against the Yankees in Game 4 and Game 5 of the 2004 ALCS.
- Red Sox skipper Alex Cora has been in eight playoff series as a manager or bench coach, and he's won them all.
Scoreboard: - Astros at White Sox: Postponed.
- Giants 1, Dodgers 0: Evan Longoria's fifth-inning solo shot handed Max Scherzer his first loss as a Dodger. L.A. was shutout five times all season — and now twice in three days.
- Braves 3, Brewers 0: Joc Pederson hit a pinch-hit three-run bomb with a bat he "stole" from former Cubs teammate Anthony Rizzo.
📆 Today's slate: Astros (up 2-1) at White Sox, 2:07pm ET; Brewers (down 2-1) at Braves, 5:15pm; Giants (up 2-1) at Dodgers, 9:07pm | | | | | | | | 6. 🏈 Lamar's huge night sparks comeback |  | | | Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images | | | | The Ravens rallied from 19 points down in the second half to beat the Colts, 31-25, Monday night in a battle of franchises with Baltimore roots. - Star of the night: Lamar Jackson (37/43, 442 yds, 4 TD) became the first player in NFL history to throw for 400+ yards and complete 86% of his passes. He accounted for 499 of Baltimore's 523 yards of offense.
- Wild stat: There have been 4,017 individual NFL games of 40+ pass attempts. Jackson has the best completion percentage of the bunch.
The big picture: You're not imagining it — this season has been historically thrilling. 19 of the 80 games have been decided in the final minute of regulation or overtime, the most ever through five weeks. Final numbers: Week 5 featured a whopping 13 missed PATs (most ever) and 25 missed FGs (most since Week 11, 1987). 🎥 Watch: John Harbaugh's postgame speech (Twitter) | | | | | | | | 7. 🌎 The world in photos | | Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images BOSTON — The first Boston Marathon held in October featured a pair of first-time winners in Benson Kipruto and Diana Kipyogei, both of Kenya. Photo: Jean-Philippe Ksiazek/AFP via Getty Images BOULCHRHAL, Morocco — The 35th edition of the Marathon des Sables ("Marathon of the Sands"), a trek through the treacherous Sahara desert, concluded Monday. No thanks. Photo: VCG/Getty Images BEIJING — The National Speed Skating Oval, dubbed the "Ice Ribbon," continues to hold test events ahead of the 2022 Beijing Games, which begin in 115 days. | | | | | | | | 8. 📆 Oct. 12, 1899: The tale of Harry Colliflower |  | | | Cleveland Spiders, circa 1890. Photo: Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics via Getty Images | | | | 122 years ago today, Harry Colliflower — the worst player on the worst team in the history of baseball — pitched his final game. By the numbers: The 1899 Cleveland Spiders finished 20-134, with an astounding -723 run differential. Colliflower — a 30-year-old rookie and former carpenter — was a major contributor to their terribleness. - He went 1-11 in 14 games, allowing nearly as many earned runs (89) as innings pitched (98).
- His 8.17 ERA makes him one of just eight pitchers to throw 90+ innings in a season and compile an ERA over 8.00.
- He amassed -2.8 WAR as a pitcher, meaning every time he toed the rubber, he cost Cleveland one-fifth of a win.
The big picture: The Spiders folded at the end of the season, but Colliflower's baseball journey continued — as a pitcher, umpire and scout. - He then went on to become one of the most important men in Washington, D.C., per the Society of American Baseball Research.
- Fun fact: Colliflower coached the Georgetown baseball (1905) and basketball teams (1911–14), and is enshrined in the school's Hall of Fame.
Go deeper: Harry Colliflower player page (Baseball Reference) | | | | | | | | 9. 🇺🇸 Population trivia |  | | | Chicago's Guaranteed Rate Field during Monday's postponement. Photo: Quinn Harris/Getty Images | | | | Seven cities remain alive in the MLB postseason: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and San Francisco. - Question: Rank them by population (largest to smallest).
- Of note: This is the population of the city itself, not the metro area.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🏈 1 campus thing: Storming for scholarships |  | | | Courtesy: Texas A&M | | | | Texas A&M was fined $100,000 by the SEC after its fans stormed Kyle Field on Saturday, violating conference rules. By the numbers: The SEC has collected $450,000 for field storming this season: $100,000 from Arkansas and Texas A&M for their second offenses, and $250,000 from Kentucky for their third. - On one hand, this seems incredibly silly.
- On the other hand, the money is deposited into the SEC Post-Graduate Scholarship Fund — so keep on storming, kids!
| | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Keep up with your home team with Axios Local | | | | | | | | Get a daily digest of what's happening in your hometown with Axios Local newsletters. Local reporters will deliver the latest news and insights on sports, politics, and more. Subscribe for free. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Kiké, do you love me?" Baker Trivia answer: Los Angeles (No. 2), Chicago (No. 3), Houston (No. 4), San Francisco (No. 17), Boston (No. 21), Milwaukee (No. 30), Atlanta (No. 37) 🙏 Thanks for reading. For more sports coverage, follow us on Twitter: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. |  | | It'll help you deliver employee communications more effectively. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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