NCAAF

• Florida State 24 LSU 23
  • Mike Norvell’s first two seasons in Tallahassee weren’t anything special, but his fortunes have taken a turn in 2022. After eking out this victory, the Seminoles are now 2-0, and have a decent chance of remaining unbeaten heading into Raleigh on October 8th. Jordan Travis has made nice strides this year as the team’s signal-caller.
  • Before things get good for Brian Kelly at LSU, they may have to get ugly. The talent in Baton Rouge is fine, although it could be better. The issue will be implementing a culture of winning again, and it’ll take time for Kelly to form a roster full of his type of players. For now, Jayden Daniels should be the guy at quarterback, as he played well in this contest. One area of improvement for Daniels: he needs to find a way to get the ball to star receiver Kayshon Boutte more. LSU must rebound from this defeat and gather a few victories, because the back nine of the Tigers’ schedule is brutal.

MLB

• Cardinals 2 Cubs 0
  • As I’ve said before, this may shape up to be a special season in St. Louis. Albert Pujols homered yet again in this game — career bomb No. 695, and Ryan Helsley lowered his ERA to 0.99.
• Blue Jays 4 Pirates 3
  • There are just five closers in all baseball with at least 30 saves, and out of all of them, Jordan Romano is easily the most slept on. This season, Romano carries a 2.06 ERA, and while good relievers can’t match the value of good position players and starting pitchers, Romano is one of Toronto’s best players.
• Rockies 8 Reds 4
  • The Reds need to figure out what to do with former No. 2 overall pick Nick Senzel. Senzel has never really gotten going as a pro, and holds an OPS of just .620 this season. Maybe Cincinnati should just get what they can for the outfielder and cut bait.
• Braves 7 Marlins 1
  • Nobody, and I mean nobody, can accuse Michael Harris of mailing it in after receiving a hefty contract extension. Harris has been phenomenal as a rookie all year for Atlanta, and is now slashing .309/.352/.538.
• Athletics 5 Orioles 0
  • Baseball is an unpredictable game, so it’s understandable to lose, but the Orioles can hardly afford to drop games to teams like the Athletics. Baltimore is now 2.5 games back in the wild card race to three teams better than it. Thankfully, the O’s have seven games remaining against the Blue Jays, creating plentiful opportunities to make up ground against one of those teams.
• Red Sox 5 Rangers 2
  • It may be too late for the Red Sox to make a playoff push, but it’s never too late for a player to heat up. Trevor Story may be doing exactly that. The second baseman went 3-4 with a home run in this game.
• Royals 3 Tigers 2
  • Detroit needs to fix its offense, but it also must fix Gregory Soto. The reliever has appeared in the last two Midsummer Classics, but he’s been struggling of late.
• Nationals 7 Mets 1
  • One — that’s the Mets’ lead over the Braves in the NL East. The reality of the situation is that it’s only a matter of time until Atlanta seizes the division lead.
• Mariners 6 Guardians 3
  • One long winning streak could be an aberration, but two of them is no joke. Winners of seven in a row, Seattle is legit, and will be a nightmare for any AL team in a playoff series.
• Dodgers 9 Padres 4
  • The Dodgers are pretty set with talented position players in each spot, but Trayce Thompson may be giving Dave Roberts a dilemma. Thompson isn’t a set in stone every day guy for the club, but his .890 OPS is hard to ignore. If Joey Gallo or Cody Bellinger go cold in a playoff series, Roberts can easily go to Thompson for help.