⚾️ Padres & Mets Stay Hot, Lynx Advance to the Finals, NFL News + Start of NHL Season

Morning Blitzers,

Happy hump day! I’ll be honest, I never really understood the expressions ‘hump day’. I thought its origins were from this commercial:

But it turns out, Wednesday first came to be known as ‘hump day’ in 1950s. The expression comes from Wednesday being in the middle of the workweek, and is the hump people get over to coast into the weekend. Well, as sports fans we’re not coasting the rest of the week. We’re just getting into the thick of things. We got elimination MLB games today, WNBA Finals, the start of the NHL season, and a bunch of NFL news. So happy hump day, and now let’s get right into it!

WTF Stat: Another cool stat about last night’s MNF game and how the Chiefs got it done with some improbable names:

🏀 Napheesa Collier led the Minnesota Lynx to a decisive 88-77 victory over the Connecticut Sun, scoring 27 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Courtney Williams added 24 points, and Kayla McBride contributed 19 points, helping the Lynx secure a spot in the WNBA Finals for the first time in seven years. The Lynx will face the top-seeded New York Liberty in the Finals.

🏈 The New York Jets have fired head coach Robert Saleh after a disappointing 2-3 start to the season, marking owner Woody Johnson's first in-season coaching change in 25 years. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has been named interim head coach. Saleh's tenure, which began in 2021, ended with a 20-36 record and no playoff appearances, despite high expectations following the acquisition of QB Aaron Rodgers.

• 🔥 Take: Woody Johnson’s first call has to be to Bill Belichick, right? It seems like you don’t make this type of move 5 games into what should be a promising season unless there is some sort of complete break in the relationship between the team and the coach or you think there is a better coach on the staff (which Jeff Ulbrich may be) or elsewhere. Hiring BB would create quite the firestorm, interesting to see how this plays out.

🏈 The Patriots are planning to start rookie QB Drake Maye against the Houston Texans in Week 6, replacing veteran QB Jacoby Brissett. Maye, the third overall pick in the 2024 draft, will become the seventh quarterback to make his first career start for the Patriots since 2000.

• 🔥 Take: On the one hand I understand that a move had to be made. On the other hand, I don’t think there is a worse offense for a rookie QB to take over. The Patriots offensive line is in shambles, and outside of RB Rhamondre Stevenson there really aren’t any playmakers on the Pats offense. Luckily, Maye is an athlete and should be able to create some plays, but I would be nervous with putting my future franchise QB in danger this Sunday and eroding his confidence.

MLB Playoffs

• Mets 7, Phillies 2: The Mets have jumped out to a 2-1 series lead thanks to strong pitching from Sean Manaea (7 innings, 1 run, 6ks), and HRs from playoff hero Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker. Game 4 will feature Ranger Suarez vs. Jose Quintana in a potential elimination game for the Phillies.

• Padres 6, Dodgers 5: The Padres scored all 6 of their runs in the second inning, capped off by red hot Fernando Tatis Jr.’s 2-run shot. The Dodgers did come fighting back thanks to Teoscar Hernández grand slam, but those would be the last runs scored in the game. The Padres bullpen clamped down going 4 innings of 1-hit, no-run relief work. The Dodgers face elimination in tomorrow’s game.

⚾️ Today

Start of NHL Season

Florida Panthers 6, Boston Bruins 4:  The Panthers kicked off their Stanley Cup title defense with a 6-4 victory over the Bruins. Sam Bennett scored two goals, while Sam Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues each contributed a goal and an assist.

St. Louis Blues 3, Seattle Kraken 2: The Blues scored 3 goals in under 2 minutes, including 2 from Jordan Kyrou to lead the St. Louis Blues to a comeback victory.

Utah Hockey Club 5, Chicago Blackhawks 2: Fun fact: the Utah Hockey Club has never trailed in a game, and are currently undefeated as a franchise. That is because in their franchise’s first game ever they took an early 3-0 lead and never looked back. The Utah crowd looked awesome:

On this day in 1988, Dennis Eckersley, becomes the first player to save all 4 games in a championship series. The Oakland Athletics (RIP) clinched the AL pennant with a 4-1 win over the Red Sox. Eckersley worked a total of six innings in the series, while allowing just one hit and two walks.

Yesterday’s Trivia Time Answer

Which QB has the most passing TDs on Monday Night Football?

D) Dan Marino - Marino leads an impressive list of players with 74 TDs on MNF. Favre (69), Brees (58), Brady (57), and Young (42) round out the top 5.

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