| | | | | | | Presented By SiriusXM | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker · Sep 12, 2022 | | ๐ Happy Monday! I have returned, and I'm ready to newsletter. Will share some stories from my travels tomorrow. Today's word count: 1,841 words (7 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: ๐ Football's back, baby |  | | | Saquon Barkley had himself a day. Photo: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images | | | | There's nothing quite like the first Sunday of the NFL season, as Americans from coast-to-coast tailgate in droves, sink into their couches and overreact to their teams — both real and fantasy. It's good to be back. Scoreboard: - Steelers 23, Bengals 20 (OT): This game was madness, featuring five Joe Burrow turnovers, a game-saving blocked extra point and multiple missed field goals down the stretch.
- Giants 21, Titans 20: In his first game as head coach, Brian Daboll ordered up a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter that ended up being the game-winner. Statement victory.
- Eagles 38, Lions 35: Jalen Hurts was a dual threat (243 pass yards, 90 rush yards) and A.J. Brown had a career-high-tying 155 yards in his Philly debut, helping the Eagles hold off the Lions' late comeback bid.
- Saints 27, Falcons 26: In his first game in almost two years, Michael Thomas caught two TDs to lead New Orleans to a comeback win in Dennis Allen's coaching debut.
- Commanders 28, Jaguars 22: Carson Wentz threw four TDs, including two in the fourth quarter, to lift his team to victory in his D.C. debut. The Washington Commanders are undefeated as a franchise (1-0).
- Browns 26, Panthers 24: Rookie Cade York drilled a 58-yard field goal in the waning seconds to rescue Cleveland and deny Baker Mayfield his revenge.
- Chargers 24, Raiders 19: Justin Herbert had his 14th game with 3+ pass TDs, which trails only Patrick Mahomes (17), Kurt Warner (16) and Dan Marino (15) for most such games within a player's first 35 starts.
- Colts 20, Texans 20: First tie of the year.
 Source: Giphy - Bears 19, 49ers 10: Chicago emerged from a monsoon at sloppy Soldier Field with a gritty win. Cool moment: Bears WR Equanimeous St. Brown caught a TD right after his brother caught one for the Lions.
- Dolphins 20, Patriots 7: Tua Tagovailoa is the first QB to beat Bill Belichick four times in a row (he's 4-0). ... Meanwhile, in the parking lot, a tailgate fire destroyed eight cars.
- Chiefs 44, Cardinals 21: Patrick Mahomes (30/39, 360 yards, 5 TD) was dominant and spread the ball around (nine different receivers) as Kansas City won its eighth consecutive season opener.
- Vikings 23, Packers 7: Justin Jefferson (9 catches, 184 yards, 2 TD) now has five games with 150 receiving yards. The only player with more such games at age 23 or younger? Randy Moss with six.
- Ravens 24, Jets 9: MetLife Stadium was full of energy and emotion on the 21st anniversary of 9/11. Unfortunately, the Jets couldn't deliver, losing their 13th straight September game dating back to 2018.
- Buccaneers 19, Cowboys 3: Tom Brady improved to 7-0 all-time against the Cowboys, who looked horrible on "Sunday Night Football" and lost Dak Prescott (thumb surgery) for the foreseeable future.
- Bills 31, Rams 10: The Super Bowl favorites made a strong statement on Thursday night, handing the Rams the second-biggest season-opening loss ever for a defending Super Bowl champion.
๐
Read: Winners and losers (The Ringer) |     | | | | | | 2. ๐พ U.S. Open: Alcaraz, ลwiฤ
tek victorious |  | | | Carlos and Iga. Photo: Elsa/Getty Images; Julian Finney/Getty Images | | | | This year's U.S. Open broke the attendance record, and the 776,120 fans who made the trip to Flushing Meadows certainly got their money's worth. What a tournament. Men's winner ... Carlos Alcaraz, 19, beat Casper Ruud, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3, to become the second-youngest man to win the U.S. Open in the Open Era (Pete Sampras) and the youngest to reach ATP No. 1. - The Spanish sensation spent 23 hours, 39 minutes on the court, the most tennis ever played by a competitor in a Grand Slam tournament.
- Alcaraz has dominated all year, but this was his coming out party. As the "Big Three" era nears its conclusion, he's already emerged as a future face of the sport.
Women's winner ... Iga ลwiฤ
tek, 21, beat Ons Jabeur, 6-2, 7-6 (5), to become the youngest three-time women's major champion since 20-year-old Maria Sharapova in 2008. - ลwiฤ
tek has won her last 10 finals, all in straight sets, and has a huge lead in the world rankings over Jabeur (10,365 points to 5,090).
- The Polish superstar is closing in on Naomi Osaka as the most accomplished major champion of their generation, and her multi-surface talents could ultimately give her the edge.
๐ Read: The 2022 U.S. Open was one for the history books (NPR) | | | | | | | | 3. ⚾️ Pujols passes A-Rod |  Data: MLB; Chart: Axios Visuals Albert Pujols hit his 697th career home run on Sunday in Pittsburgh, moving past Alex Rodriguez for fourth on the all-time list. "There's impressive, and then there's unbelievable ... What we're witnessing right now is absolutely legendary." — Oliver Marmol, Cardinals manager Pujols celebrates his historic home run. Photo: Justin Berl/Getty Images ❤️ Love this ... Pirates fan Samantha Brown caught Pujols' home run on the one-year anniversary of her father's passing. When she met Albert to give him the ball, he told her to keep it, saying it would mean more to her than to him. What to watch: Pujols, 42, has 21 games left in his final season, so the 700 HR chase is on. He's hit 10 of his 18 bombs since Aug. 10, becoming a key contributor for the NL Central leaders. Sunday's homer won the game. ๐ Watch: Postgame interview (MLB) | | | | | | | | 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 |  | | | Gilmore celebrates her win in San Clemente, California. Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images | | | | ๐ Gilmore, the GOAT: Stephanie Gilmore won her eighth surfing world title on Friday, passing fellow Australian Layne Beachley for most by a woman. Her titles span three decades (2007-10, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2022). ๐ IndyCar champ: Will Power clinched his second IndyCar championship on Sunday with a third-place finish at the Grand Prix of Monterrey (California). Power also won the 2014 title. ⚾️ 504-foot moonshot: Colorado's C.J. Cron hit a 504-foot HR at Coors Field on Friday night, the second-longest homer since Statcast started tracking distance in 2015. ⛳️ Lowry wins in England: Shane Lowry held off Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm to win the BMW PGA Championship, which was shortened to 54 holes following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. ๐ฅ PLL Championship: Seven teams made the Premier Lacrosse League postseason, and the two finalists are the No. 7 and No. 5 seeds. That's called parity. Chaos vs. Waterdogs for all the marbles this Sunday in Philly. | | | | | | | | 5. ๐ AP poll: Bulldogs bump Bama |  Data: AP; Table: Axios Visuals Georgia reclaimed the top spot in the AP college football poll, and Kentucky, Oklahoma State and Arkansas moved into the top 10 after an upset-filled weekend. View from the top: The defending national champion Bulldogs, who started the season at No. 3, are back to where they spent most of last year. Georgia's scoring differential through two games: 82-3. The big game: Texas had top-ranked Alabama on the ropes late in the fourth quarter in Austin, but Bryce "Houdini" Young engineered a nine-play, 61-yard drive for the 20-19 win. - The Crimson Tide have won 54 straight non-conference regular-season games, the longest such streak in the AP Poll era (since 1936).
- The Longhorns, now ranked No. 21, are believed to be the first team to lose and still enter the Top 25 since Missouri in 1997, per AP.
Steven Gilmore celeb rates his pick six with Marshall fans at Notre Dame Stadium. Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images Elsewhere ... Have a Saturday, Sun Belt! A league once considered the very bottom of the FBS barrel is suddenly the toast of college football following a trio of seismic upsets. Wild stat: Saturday was the first time since the FBS/FCS split in 1978 that four teams favored by 17.5 points lost on the same day (the three upsets above, plus Washington State's 17-14 win over Wisconsin). ๐ค Read: For Texas, an agonizingly familiar feeling of "what if?" (The Ringer) | | | | | | | | 6. ๐ WNBA Finals: Aces take Game 1 |  | | | A'ja Wilson. Photo: Jeff Bottari/NBAE via Getty Images | | | | The Aces took Game 1 of the 2022 WNBA Finals on Sunday, beating the Sun, 67-64, in front of their hometown Las Vegas fans. Game recap: League MVP A'ja Wilson (20 points, 11 rebounds) recorded her fourth straight 20-point double-double. She also added four blocks and two steals, helping Vegas hold Connecticut to just 37.8% shooting. - Aces guard Chelsea Gray stayed hot with 21 points. After averaging 13.7 PPG in the regular season, she's averaging 23.6 PPG in the playoffs.
- Alyssa Thomas, who finished fourth in MVP voting, led the Sun with 19 points and 11 rebounds. 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones added 15 and nine.
The backdrop: Both teams are seeking their first WNBA title. The Sun have the most playoff victories without a championship (35); the Aces have made it to at least the conference finals in four straight seasons. Fun fact: Aces rookie coach Becky Hammon is the first person to reach the WNBA Finals as both a player and a head coach. What's next: Game 2 is tomorrow night (9pm, ET, ESPN) in Vegas. The top-seeded Aces have home-court advantage in the best-of-five series. ๐ Read: This Finals matchup feels fated (FiveThirtyEight) | | | | | | | | 7. ๐ The world in photos | | Photo: John McCoy/Getty Images LOS ANGELES — Le'Veon Bell TKO'd Adrian Peterson on Saturday night in a clash of former NFL running backs. Bell, 30, reiterated his plans to pursue a career in boxing. Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2022 — headlined by Manu Ginรณbili, Tim Hardaway, Swin Cash, Bob Huggins and Lindsay Whalen — was enshrined on Saturday. Photo: Dan Istitene/Formula 1 via Getty Images MONZA, Italy — Max Verstappen won the Italian Grand Prix for his fifth straight victory and could mathematically wrap up the Formula 1 title at the next race in Singapore. Photo: Romina Amato/Red Bull via Getty Images SISIKON, Switzerland — The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series is incredible. | | | | | | | | 8. ๐บ Watchlist: Broncos Country, let's ride! | | The Seahawks host the Broncos tonight (8:15pm ET, ABC/ESPN), as Denver QB Russell Wilson — fresh off a new $245 million deal — returns to the place he called home for a decade. - The backdrop: Wilson led Seattle to 104 regular-season wins and nine playoff victories from 2012-2021, both second-most behind Tom Brady.
- Betting lines: Spread: DEN -7 | O/U: 44 | Money*: DEN -320; SEA +250 (odds via Caesars Sportsbook)
*Moneyline, explained: You're betting on who will win. The Broncos (-320) are the favorite, so you'd have to bet $320 to win $100. The Seahawks (+250) are the underdog, so a $100 bet would win $250. | | | | | | | | 9. ๐ Queen trivia |  | | | Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle in 1952 with one of her Corgis. Photo: Bettmann Archives/Getty Images | | | | Question: Which Big Four sports franchise (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) won the most championships during the 70-year-reign of Queen Elizabeth II (1952–2022)? - Hint: No titles this century.
- Submitted by: Richard Rothschild (Chicago)
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. ๐ฟ Top plays: Weekend edition |  | | | Holy Cross celebrating their walk-off win. Photo: Joshua Bessex/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images | | | - ๐ Holy Cross Hail Mary
- ๐พ What a point
- ⚽️ Does it all himself
- ⚽️ Batista's brilliance
- ๐ Diontae Johnson!
- ⚽️ Laser show
- ๐ Hurdled him
- ⚾️ CJ Abrams!
- ๐ Look ma, one hand
- ⚾️ Story's got hops
Watch all 10. | | | | | | | | 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. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Fun Belt" Baker Trivia answer: Montreal Canadiens (18 titles), who are fittingly part of a commonwealth nation ๐ Thanks for reading. Be sure to follow us on Twitter (@kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy) and tell your friends to sign up. |  | | Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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