🏀 Liberty Buzzer Beater Win, Dodgers and Ohtani Dominate, TNF Preview + More!

Morning Blitzers,

Hope you’re having a great week so far! We had some great playoff moments last night in the WNBA and MLB, so let’s get right into the action!

WTF Stat: The Mets are known for their come backs, but last night the Dodgers were just too much to overcome:

🏀 In Game 3 of the WNBA Finals, Sabrina Ionescu's last-second DEEP 3-pointer led the New York Liberty to a 80-77 victory over the Minnesota Lynx, giving the Liberty a 2-1 series lead. Breanna Stewart also played a pivotal role, scoring 30 points and helping the team overcome a 15-point deficit.

🏈 Saints WRs Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave have both been ruled out for Thursday night's game against the Denver Broncos. Shaheed is dealing with a meniscus injury that may require surgery, with a possibility of him going on injured reserve, while Olave is sidelined due to a concussion. QB/TE/FB Taysom Hill is also doubtful for the game due to a rib injury.

• 🔥Take: Rookie Spencer Rattler’s second career start will be without his top 2 WRs (Shaheed has been one of the best deep threats in the NFL so far), plus he’ll have a banged up offensive line. Not going to be fun. I’m guessing we’ll see a lot of check downs to Alvin Kamara, I’m hammering the over on his receptions.

🏈 WR Davante Adams is excited to reunite with quarterback Aaron Rodgers on the Jets after being traded from the Raiders. Adams, who requested the trade, considers the Jets his top choice and feels it's a positive change for both himself and the Raiders. "This whole thing kind of transpired a little weird, but at the end of the day, we're in a better place. I think that the Raiders are in a better place as well, and everybody can kind of move on."

• 🔥Take: ‘kind of transpired a little weird’? I wonder what was weird about it. From where I’m sitting you… Demanded a trade after complaining all last year (your complaints were recorded). Created a wish list for where you wanted to go, all while sitting out with an apparent “injury” that seems to have magically healed now. So you complained your way out Vegas, after complaining your way out of Green Bay (it cost the Raiders a 1st rounder and a lot of money to get you), and you ended up exactly where you wanted to be. How exactly was that weird for you and how are the Raiders in a better place now? If I’m a Raiders fan or player I wouldn’t be too happy or ready to move on.

MLB Playoffs

• Dodgers 8, Mets 0: Runs came early and often for the Dodgers last night as they piled on 8 unanswered runs as Kiké Hernández added a two-run shot in the sixth, Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run homer in the 8th, and Max Muncy capped off the scoring with a solo home run in the ninth (with the stands pretty much empty). Walker Buehler showed a glimpse of his old self going 4 innings and striking out 6, and getting a big strikeout with the bases loaded. The Dodgers bullpen was dominant again allowing 1 hit over 5 innings while striking out 7.

⚾️ Today

Thursday Night Football Preview

Game: Broncos (3-3) @ Saints (2-4) at 8:15 EST

Why we’re watching: This is one of those Thursday Night Football games that you really need to talk yourself into. Maybe get a few side bets going. A couple 5-leg parlays, maybe create a drinking game for every first down (Broncos have the lowest 1st down rate in the NFL). Let’s face it we’ve been spoiled on Thursday Night Football so far this season. A great philosopher once told me, you can’t appreciate the sun without the rain. So grab an umbrella and buck up. We’ll all be wishing for Thursday Night Football when its the middle of February and we’re cold and miserable, so let’s cherish this.

Key Matchup: Spencer Rattler vs. Denver Secondary: Rattler is going to face a lot of adversity in this game. A young QB with a shorthanded team against a really good defense (top 5 in yards-per-carry and yards-per-attempt). He’s going to need a lot of help from everyone else around him in this one, but if he is able to manage this game and pull out a win I’ll never doubt him again.

TNF Prop Bets: Jean (2-4) - Troy Franklin over 20.5 yards receiving — Keith (3-3) - Alvin Kamara over 4.5 receptions.

D-Man’s Pick (3-3 TNF): Broncos -2.5 → The Saints injuries are worse than the Broncos, and I’ll take a 1st Round Rookie QB > a 5th Round Rookie QB, and a bad coach vs. a good coach on a short week. Seems too easy…

NHL Scores

• Penguins 6, Sabres 5: Sidney Crosby scored the game-winning power-play goal just 1:38 into overtime, while Evgeni Malkin achieved his 500th career goal during the game. Crosby also reached the milestone of 1,600 regular-season points. The Penguins had to rally after trailing, with Bryan Rust scoring a crucial goal with 46 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

• Bruins 5, Avalanche 3: The losing streak continues for the Avalanche as they have now lost four in a row. David Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm scored just 13 seconds apart in the second period, helping the Bruins establish a 4-1 lead. The Avalanche's power play was effective, finishing 3 for 3, but they weren’t able to get it done with even numbers. Also, proud dad moment here:

• Leafs 6, Kings 2: Big game for Auston Matthews who scored his first goal of the season and added two assists. Toronto broke an 0-for-11 run to start the season on the power play when William Nylander beat Pheonix Copley to make it 5-0 late in the second.

• Ducks 5, Utah Hockey Club 4: Leo Carlsson scored 54 seconds into overtime, leading the Ducks to a 5-4 victory in their home opener. This win marked the Ducks' ninth consecutive home opener victory. Utah initially took a 4-3 lead with Clayton Keller's goal, but Pavel Mintyukov tied the game for Anaheim with just over five minutes left in regulation.

On this day in 1885, the National League sets a minimum player salary of $1,000 and a maximum of $2,000 for the 1886 season. That would be equivalent to $33.5k-$67k by today’s standards. I figured salaries were so low because there just wasn’t a lot of fan interest at the time, but here is a picture of the Polo Grounds from 1888, and they were packing them in!

Yesterday’s Trivia Time Answer

Alex Ovechkin has the most goals scored while playing for only one franchise, who has the second most?

C) Steve Yzerman - Playing 22 seasons all for the Detroit Red Wings, Yzerman recorded 692 goals, 2 above Mario Lemieux’s career total. Sidney Crosby is closing in fast scoring his 593rd goal last night in overtime.

Check back tomorrow for the answer to today's trivia question and more info!