🎙 Axios Sports: "Ekeler's Edge"

Plus: The Field of Dreams game is the best | Friday, August 12, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By SiriusXM   Axios Sports By Jeff Tracy · Aug 12, 2022 👋 Happy Friday! A friendly reminder that the newsletter will be paused next week. See you back here on Monday, Aug. 22. Today's word count: 1,709 words (6 minutes). Let's sports...     1 big thing: 🎙 Athletes creating content Photo: Dylan Buell/Getty Images   When consensus first-round fantasy draft pick Austin Ekeler isn't slicing through defenses this fall, he'll be moonlighting in a gig that feels rather appropriate, if not a little meta: fantasy football analyst. Driving the news: The Chargers running back's weekly fantasy football show, "Ekeler's Edge," is returning to Yahoo Sports for a second season starting Sept. 7. The video and podcast series will run on 18 consecutive Wednesdays as Ekeler and co-host Matt Harmon, a Yahoo fantasy analyst, interview players and provide fantasy insight. Guests last year included Rob Gronkowski, Justin Herbert, Travis Kelce and more. What they're saying: Ekeler is among the select few NFL players who actually cares about fantasy — at least 95% of players don't pay any attention to it, he tells Axios — but for him it's more about community than the game itself. "It's not that I love fantasy, that I can't wait to do my mock draft, but I love the community. I love that so many people care about it. That's what draws me to it. I just want to hang out, be competitive, talk some ball, talk some life." — Ekeler The big picture: Ekeler's in a generation of athletes — including Draymond Green and C.J. McCollum, to name a few who have their own podcasts — that grew up with social media, where creating content feels normal. In fact, the predecessor to "Ekeler's Edge" was just him going on Twitch to tell fans how he felt about his upcoming matchup, and he thinks more athletes should do the same. "It's more beneficial for people to hear who you are from yourself," he says. "That's where the real value lies in content creation." The last word: Anyone stressing about their upcoming fantasy drafts may want to take a page out of Ekeler's book. "There's a lot of great players in the league, man. If I get them, great. If I don't, I'll still be excited to watch my team do their thing and compete against everyone else. For me, that's really what it's about."     2. 🏈 The Buckeyes are the hottest ticket in town Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios   With a No. 2 preseason ranking and Heisman favorite C.J. Stroud under center, interest in Ohio State football is through the roof ahead of the season, which begins in just two weeks. State of play: For the first time ever, the Buckeyes are the most in-demand team in college football based on cumulative ticket sales as of Aug. 12, per exclusive data provided by StubHub. The top 10: 1. Ohio State, 2. Alabama, 3. Texas, 4. Georgia, 5. Texas A&M, 6. Notre Dame, 7. Michigan, 8. Penn State, 9. Auburn, 10. LSU Ohio State's year-over-year increase in cumulative sales was also the largest among all teams, followed by Texas, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Nebraska. Wild stat: The Buckeyes account for nearly 10% of all college football sales so far on StubHub, including more than a third of Big Ten sales. Conference call: The SEC leads all conferences for the third straight full-capacity season, accounting for 39% of all sales. They're followed by the Big Ten (27%), Big 12 (13%), ACC (8%) and Pac-12 (5%). Top 10 games: Alabama (three), Ohio State (two) and Notre Dame (two) are the only teams with multiple games in StubHub's top 10 by total sales: Alabama at Texas (Sept. 10) Notre Dame at Ohio State (Sept. 3) Texas A&M at Alabama (Oct. 8) Oregon vs. Georgia (Sept. 3; Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium) Michigan at Ohio State (Nov. 26) Auburn at Alabama (Nov. 26) Clemson at Notre Dame (Nov. 5) West Virginia at Pittsburgh (Sept. 1) Oklahoma at Nebraska (Sept. 17) Florida State vs. LSU (Sept. 4; New Orleans' Caesars Superdome)     3. ❤️ Fathers and sons Ken Griffey Jr. and Sr. Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images   Last night's Field of Dreams game, a Cubs win over the Reds, counted the same as the other 161 in the standings. But it was clear from the moment players emerged from the corn that it wasn't just any other ballgame. The big picture: Like the movie, baseball is about the bond between fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, and passing this beautiful game down from generation to generation. The night began with Ken Griffey Jr. and Sr. having a catch in the outfield. Later it was sadly revealed that John Smoltz, in the booth for the broadcast, lost his father the day of the game. But, "when you think of this park, this movie ... I can't think of another day to honor him." And of course, there was the inimitable Joey Votto, mic'd up throughout the night, explaining why this place is so special to him. "I used to play catch with my father, from 8, 9 years old. He wanted me to be a pitcher. We threw every day, shared that moment together. "He passed away about 14 years ago, and here I am at the Field of Dreams, longing for a catch with my father, but still basking in this with a smile knowing that if he was here he would have loved it. And we would have shared it together. It's very much a full circle moment for me." The bottom line: Seriously, how can you not be romantic about baseball?     A message from SiriusXM Get 3 months free of SiriusXM     Stream more than 425 channels on your devices for free on the SXM App, including expertly curated ad-free music with channels dedicated to your favorite decades and genres. Even better: You'll even get access to exclusive music channels created by your favorite artists. See Offer Details.     4. ⚡️ Lightning round Photo: Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images   ❤️ No. 6 forever: The NBA is retiring the late Bill Russell's No. 6, though players who already wear it (like LeBron James) will be grandfathered in. It joins Jackie Robinson's No. 42 and Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 as the only league-wide retired jerseys in sports. ⛳️ Playoffs: J.J. Spaun and Si Woo Kim are tied for the lead (-8) after day one of the playoff-opening St. Jude Championship. Kim ended his round in style, holing out from 167 yards for eagle on the 18th. ⚾️ 14 straight: White Sox ace Dylan Cease pitched another gem with one or fewer earned runs (6 IP, 8 K, 1 ER), extending his MLB record streak of such games to 14. 🏀 "Spartan for life": Michigan State gave Tom Izzo a rolling five-year extension that will essentially give him the option to stay on as the head coach until he decides to retire.     5. 🏀 WNBA snapshot: The final weekend Sylvia Fowles. Photo: Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images   The WNBA regular season ends on Sunday, and four teams — all of whom have the same record — are fighting for the remaining two playoff spots. Clinched: Aces (25-10), Sky (25-10), Sun (24-11), Storm (21-13), Mystics (20-14), Wings (17-17) Alive: Lynx (14-20), Dream (14-20), Liberty (14-20), Mercury (14-20) Eliminated: Sparks (13-22), Fever (5-29) Schedule: While the Lynx and Mercury both have two games left against playoff-bound foes, the Dream and Liberty play each other twice. Should be wild. The intrigue: Future Hall of Famer Sylvia Fowles — the WNBA's all-time leader in rebounds and field goal percentage, with the third-most blocks and 10th-most points — is retiring at the end of the season. Can she lead the Lynx into the playoffs for one last postseason run? What's next: The playoffs, which begins with every team playing a best-of-three series, start on Wednesday. Go deeper: Picking every major award (ESPN)     6. 💵 Massachusetts legalizes sports betting Reproduced from American Gaming Association; Cartogram: Axios Visuals Massachusetts on Wednesday became the 36th state (plus Washington, D.C.) to legalize sports betting after Gov. Charlie Baker signed the bill into law. State of play: Betting isn't actually operational there yet, and perhaps won't be until 2023, as it's one of six states that's legalized but not yet solidified regulations and licensing. The other five: Maine, Ohio, Nebraska, Kansas and Florida. Florida's Seminole Tribe, which was granted exclusive rights to the state's sports betting landscape when it became legal in 2021, has been locked in a legal battle ever since in an effort to make it operational. Looking ahead: California, one of two states with active sports betting legislation (Alaska), will have two measures on the November ballot that could lead to legalization — though some state legislators are opposed to their inclusion.     7. 🌎 The world in photos Photo: Scott Taetsch/Getty Images BALTIMORE — The Ravens beat the Titans on Thursday, 23-10, continuing one of the strangest and most useless streaks in sports: they've won 21 consecutive preseason games. Elsewhere: The Giants beat the Patriots, 23-21. Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images CHORZÓW, Poland — Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran a 10.62-second 100m on Wednesday, the fourth-fastest time ever by a woman. Go deeper: World champs at the Monaco Diamond League (Let's Run) Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images DYERSVILLE, Iowa — I will never get over how cool it is that they built a major league baseball field here. Chills.     8. 📺 Watchlist: "A League of Their Own" Source: Giphy "A League of Their Own," Amazon's new series inspired by Penny Marshall's iconic 1992 film, premiered today on Prime Video. All eight episodes are streaming, so binge away, friends. Premise: Like the movie, it follows the Rockford Peaches of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1943, though it has more room to explore the team dynamic and World War II-era backdrop. Cast: Abbi Jacobson ("Broad City") is the co-creator, starring alongside D'Arcy Carden ("The Good Place"), Nick Offerman ("Parks and Recreation") and relative newcomer Chanté Adams. More to watch: ⛳️ PGA: St. Jude Championship (Fri.–Sun. ESPN+/Golf/NBC) 🏈 NFL preseason: 14 games (Fri.–Sun. NFL/NFL+) ⚾️ MLB: Padres at Nationals (Fri. 7pm, Apple TV+; Sun. 12pm, Peacock); Phillies at Mets (Fri. 7pm, Apple TV+); Yankees at Red Sox (Sun. 7pm, ESPN) 🏀 WNBA: 10 games (Fri.–Sat. ABC/ESPN2/CBSSN/NBA/Prime) 🥎 Little League: 10 games (Fri.–Mon., ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/ESPN+) ... Softball World Series ends Monday. ⚾️ Little League: Five games (Fri. 1pm–9pm, ESPN) ... Final day of regionals. LLWS begins Aug. 17. ⚽️ Premier League: Chelsea vs. Tottenham (Sun. 11:30am, USA) ⚽️ MLS: LAFC vs. Charlotte (Sat. 10:30pm, ESPN+) ... Will Ferrell and John McEnroe are providing color commentary. ⚽️ NWSL: Angel City at Red Stars (Sun. 8pm, CBSSN) ⛳️ USGA: U.S. Women's Amateur (Fri.–Sun. Golf) 🎾 Tennis: Canadian Open (Fri.–Sun. Tennis) 🥍 PLL: Week 10 in Utah (Fri.–Sat. ESPN+) 🏀 BIG3: Playoffs (Sun. 3pm, CBS) 🏁 NASCAR: Richmond Raceway (Sun. 3pm, USA) 🥏 AUDL: Playoffs (Sat. 7pm, FS2/AUDL.tv)     9. 🏈 NFL trivia Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images   James White, who announced his retirement from the NFL on Thursday, scored three of the Patriots' four TDs in their epic Super Bowl LI comeback over the Falcons — including the walk-off in overtime. Question: Which Patriot scored the other TD? Hint: WR Answer at the bottom.     10. ⚾️ 1 unbelievable performance: The HR cycle Source: Giphy Chandler Redmond of the Springfield Cardinals (Double-A) hit for just the second "home run cycle" in professional baseball history on Wednesday. And they came in four consecutive innings! 5th inning: Two-run HR 6th inning: Grand slam 7th inning: Solo shot 8th inning: Three-run HR Watch all four.     A message from SiriusXM Stream SiriusXM today and get 3 months free     With SiriusXM, stream expertly curated ad-free music on your devices with channels dedicated to your favorite decades, hits, styles and genres. The deets: Get access to more than 425 channels on the SXM app, plus podcasts, sports talk, Howard Stern and more. See Offer Details.   Have a great weekend, Jeff "I'm the captain now" Tracy Trivia answer: Danny Amendola 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. Tell friends to sign up. 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