🏈 NFL is Finally Back, A No-Hitter in Baseball, Tennis, WNBA + Our Final NFC West Preview

Good Morning!

Ladies and gentlemen, football fanatics, and eternal optimists, we've finally made it! The first glorious day of the NFL season is upon us, and the air is thick with possibility. Today, every team stands on equal footing, their record unblemished, their potential unlimited. It's a day when even the most battle-worn fans allow themselves to dream big.

Your team's untested rookie? He could be the next NFL legend in the making. That offseason acquisition? He might be the missing piece of the championship puzzle. The new coaching staff? They could be strategic geniuses ready to revolutionize the game. Well, except for the Patriots, Giants, and Panthers your teams are still going to suck.

Anyway, we got a lot of other sports to cover, so let’s get right into things!

WTF Stat: Did you know there is such a thing as a one-point safety? This bizarre occurrence, which has only happened five times since 1988, rewards the offense with one point if the defense gains possession of the ball on a point-after try (kicking an extra-point), but is then tackled in the end zone by the offense. Here is an example, pretty wild:

⚾️ The Cubs Shota Imanaga, Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge combine to no-hit Pirates. Imanaga pitched seven innings, striking out seven and walking two. This game marked the Cubs' 18th no-hitter and their first combined no-hitter in MLB history with a rookie starting and finishing the game.

• 🔥 Take: Shota Imanaga was at 95 pitches and they took him out? That’s pretty soft. I never understood the whole 100 pitch count limit, it seems pretty arbitrary. I get it for strategic reasons, but this game was out of hand, so it had to be arm issues? Have you ever seen a pitchers routine on game day? Most are throwing at least 100 pitches before they even take the mound. Add in the 4-5 warm up pitches before each inning starts. How are those extra 20 pitches the ones that were going to ruin his arm? Make it make sense. If I was Imanaga, I’d go all Max Scherzer on the manager and refuse to come out of the game if I had a chance to make history.

🏀 Caitlin Clark led the Indiana Fever to a 93-86 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks, securing her second triple-double of the WNBA season with 24 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds. Clark's performance, including four 3-pointers that helped her reach 102 for the season, was pivotal in extending the Fever's winning streak to five games.

• 🔥 Take: I didn’t think I’d be talking much about the WNBA, but Caitlin Clark’s recent run has been pretty awesome. It’s given me chills, it’s made my temperature rise, or should I say it’s… given me the WNBA Fever.

🏈 

🎾 Jessica Pegula achieved a significant milestone by defeating top-ranked Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-4 in the US Open quarterfinals. This victory marks Pegula’s first Grand Slam semifinal appearance after six previous unsuccessful attempts. The win guarantees that multiple American players will feature in the US Open semifinals, a feat not seen since 2003.

• 🔥 Take: The US is so back in tennis! Everyone better be jumping on the bandwagon 🚂 for the semi-finals, tomorrow for the women and Friday for the men!

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NFL SEASON PREVIEW - NFC West

1. San Francisco 49ers

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan continues to be the bridesmaid and never the bride with another trip to the Super Bowl and another runner-up trophy. The Niners didn’t lose any key pieces on offense, and again are favorites to come out of the NFC. The only thing that could get in the way of a Niners repeat appearance to the Super Bowl is health. RB Christian McCaffery, WR Deebo Samuel and TE George Kittle aren’t getting any younger and the Niners are lacking in depth if they miss time.

Biggest Additions: DT Maliek Collins, EDGE Leonard Floyd, QB Joshua Dobbs, EDGE Yetur Gross-Matos, CB Renardo Green

Biggest Departures: QB Sam Darnold, EDGE Clelin Ferrell, EDGE Chase Young, DT Javon Kinlaw, EDGE Randy Gregory

Biggest Question: Is this combination of players actually good enough to win a Super Bowl or are they destined to continue to come up just short?

Playmakers: WRs Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk - The contract drama around Aiyuk is over and the dynamic duo is back in action.

Name You Should Know: LB Fred Warner - Aging like a fine wine, Warner had the best season of his career in 2023 with 132 tackles and 4 INT.

Sleeper: RB Jordan Mason - Explosive in the little playing time he had in 2023, will be the primary back-up for McCaffery.

Projection: 13-4

2. Los Angeles Rams

The Rams had big question marks going into 2023 after a disastrous 2022, and they got some very good answers. RB Kyren Williams and WR Puka Nacua emerged as stars to go along with QB Matthew Stafford and WR Cooper Kupp. They’ll have to find some answers on defense in 2024 after losing first ballot hall of famer DT Aaron Donald if they want to compete for a division crown. Aside from that, this team will only go as far as Matthew Stafford’s health.

Biggest Additions: RB Blake Corum ( R ), S Kamrel Curl, DT Braden Fiske, QB Jimmy Garoppolo, OG Jonah Jackson, EDGE Jared Verse ( R ), CB Tre’Davious White

Biggest Departures: DT Aaron Donald, S Jordan Fuller, QB Carson Wentz

Biggest Question: Who steps up on the defensive side of the ball?

Playmakers: WRs Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua - Nacua set a rookie record for receiving yards in 2023, and with a healthy Kupp, the duo should be a tough match-up for any team.

Name You Should Know: EDGE Jared Verse - A prolific pass-rusher at Florida State, the Rams drafted Verse in the first round and should make an impact immediately.

Sleeper: WR Jordan Whittington - The rookie out of Utah flashed in preseason, the Rams could have found another late round gem.

Projection: 10-7

3. Seattle Seahawks

After wildly exceeding low expectations in 2022, the Seahawks underwhelmed in 2023 while posting the exact same record (9-8). Which of course begs the question, what will change in 2024? The offensive core remains the same with a new offensive coordinator with the hopes that Seattle can improve on mediocre numbers across the board. The key is unleashing second year WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba who was woefully under-utilized in his rookie season. It’s tough sledding in the NFC West but the Seahawks have a favorable opening schedule to get off on the right foot.

Biggest Additions: LB Jerome Baker, LB Tyrel Dodson, QB Sam Howell, DT Byron Murphy II (R), OG Laken Tomlinson

Biggest Departures: QB Drew Lock, LB Devin Bush, S Jamal Adams, LB Bobby Wagner, C Evan Brown

Biggest Question: Is Geno Smith good enough to get the Seahawks to the playoffs?

Playmakers: WRs DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith Njigba - One of the more talented trios in the NFL, giving Geno plenty of options in all three levels of the passing game.

Name You Should Know: RB Kenneth Walker III - Has dealt with nagging injuries in his first two seasons, is all-systems go in 2024.

Sleeper: EDGE Boye Mafe - A quiet 9 sacks in his second season, has the potential to become a key weapon the Seattle defense in 2024.

Projection: 9-8

4. Arizona Cardinals

With “star” QB Kyler Murray missing most of the season in 2023, the Cardinals were expected to be the worst team in the league by far. However, for what Head Coach Jonathan Gannon lacked in pregame pump up speeches, he made up for in tactics. The Cardinals went 4-13, bad, but 5 of those losses were by one score. They invested high draft picks on the offensive side of the ball including WR Marvin Harrison Jr. and RB Trey Benson. It’s going to take a lot of things to go right for the Cardinals to make a run this year and most of it hinges on Kyler Murray.

Biggest Additions: WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (R), RB Trey Benson (R), DT Justin Jones, CB Max Melton, CB Sean Murphy-Bunting, DT Bilal Nichols, OT Jonah Williams

Biggest Departures: WR Marquise Brown, OT D.J. Humphries, WR Rondale Moore, CB Antonio Hamilton

Biggest Question: Is this another rebuilding year for the Cardinals or will they actually be competitive?

Playmaker: QB Kyler Murray - The best dual-threat QB not named Lamar Jackson, will need to play out of his mind in 2024.

Name You Should Know: TE Trey McBride - Broke out in his second year with over 80 receptions and 800 yards, should be the primary target in the offense.

Sleeper: RB Trey Benson - James Conner is an old man, Benson is a big play threat that can contribute right away.

Projection: 6-11

Thursday Night Football Preview

Game: Ravens @ Chiefs (8:20 EST)

Why we’re watching: Because it’s the first game of the season between two of the best teams and QBs in the NFL and should be an electric game. (This category will make more sense when week 7 rolls around and we’re subjected to watching the Broncos vs. Saints on Thursday Night Football).

Key Matchup: Derrick Henry vs Chiefs run defense - it will be interesting to see how Derrick Henry fits into the Ravens offense that has seemingly been fine rotating in whichever back is healthy over the last few years (Lamar Jackson has led the team in rushing the last 5 years). Will things change with more of a traditional workhorse? From the Chiefs perspective, they had a porous rush defense last year allowing 4.5 yards per carry. Can they stop the Ravens dynamic rushing attack?

TNF Prop Bets: Jean - Mark Andrews over 47.5 yards receiving; Keith - Isiah Pacheco over 59.5 yards rushing.

The Pick: +3 Ravens - the Chiefs lost to the Lions at home on Thursday night last year to start the season, and the Ravens always seem to play well in these big (regular season) games.

• Rangers 10, Yankees 6: Wyatt Langford does it again, including a home run stealing catch to save a 3-run homer.

• Diamondbacks 6, Giants 4: Zac Gallen threw 6 no-hit innings before being removed, the D-Backs would hold on to win despite some shaky relief appearances.

• Royals 4, Guardians 1: Seth Lugo threw 7 innings of 1-run ball, and Tommy Pham hit a 3-run shot to help seal the victory.

See the full MLB scoreboard here and the current standings here.

On this day in 1995, Cal Ripken Jr ties Lou Gehrig's 56-year-old record of consecutive games played, with 2,130 straight games. Ripken would go on to play 2,632 games in a row, creating a new ‘unbreakable’ record.

Yesterday’s Trivia Time Answer

The Expos moved to Washington D.C. and became the Nationals in 2005. Which player had the most home runs in Expos History?

B. Vladimir Guerrero - with 234 HRs while on the Expos. He ended his career with 449 HRs in total. His son Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is currently 8th all-time on the Blue Jays home run list with 158 (and he’s only 25 years old).

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