Cavaliers Win Donovan Mitchell Sweepstakes
Get ready with us for the first College Gameday of the year with this list of the greatest gameday crowd signs of all time.
Some housekeeping before you start scrolling— our schedule for next week will be a little different because of the long weekend. Our typical Monday edition will post on Tuesday instead, but Wednesday and Friday will be the same.
Happy labor day folks! Here’s your Friday edition:
Weekend Preview: College Football, MLB & What Else to Watch
Headlines Around the Sports World & Conversation Starters
Memes, bets & a wild sports illustrated cover
Est. Read Time: 6 Minutes
Weekend Preview
College Football
We know that technically the college football season kicked off last week with some Week 0 action. And while we enjoyed *checks notes* one game, the real fun starts this weekend. We have games on Friday, Saturday, and Monday of this long weekend, so buckle up.
Starting with a recap of the games from last night:
#17 Pittsburgh defeated West Virginia (Final Score: 38-31)
WVU covers +7.5 | over 51
#12 Oklahoma State defeated Central Michigan (Final Score: 58-44)
CMCH covers +21 | over 58
#22 Wake Forest defeated VMI (Final Score: 44-10)
WF covers -33 | under 66.5
Games to Watch:
No. 11 Oregon vs No. 3 Georgia: The defending National Champions, the Georgia Bulldogs, will host a traveling Oregon Ducks team at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Georgia lost talent on defense to the NFL Draft, but they brought back some key starters, which include starting QB Stetson Bennett.
The plot thickens in this matchup as Oregon head coach Dan Lanning will be making his coaching debut for the school after serving as a defensive coordinator for the past three seasons at… Georgia. He has a tough task ahead of him as his former boss, Kirby Smart, and the dawgs are 17-point favorites. Oregon also added former Auburn QB Bo Nix via the transfer portal to assist with their quest for the CFP this season.
Watch 📺: Saturday, 3:30 pm ET on ABC
Odds: UGA -17 | over/under 54
#23 Cincinnati at #19 Arkansas: We wanted more mid-day fireworks on top of Georgia vs Oregon, and we think this matchup is going to bring it. The Bearcats, still representing the AAC conference but on their way to the Big 12, open up as 7-point underdogs to the razorbacks as they come off one of the best seasons in their program’s history; making it all the way to the CFP. Arkansas, on the other hand, will hope their ground & pound rushing attack on offense will remain as good as it was last season. Cincy is undefeated in openers in their last 10 seasons but has not opened against a Top 25 team on the road since 2004 (proceed with caution).
Watch 📺: Saturday, 3:30 pm ET on ESPN
Odds: ARK-6.5 | over/under 53
#5 Notre Dame at #2 Ohio State: Notre Dame’s new head coach, Marcus Freeman, is not getting a gimme in his debut as he’ll travel to Columbus to face his alma mater, who are favored to win by 17 points. Ohio State will look to start off strong after having its playoff hopes crushed by Michigan last season. Expect a quarterback duel and some big plays on offense in this College Gameday matchup.
Watch 📺: Saturday at 7:30 pm ET on ABC
Odds: OSU -17.5 | over/under 59
Other games to watch this weekend:
Western Michigan at #15 Michigan State: Friday at 7:00 pm ET on ESPN2
#13 NC State at East Carolina University: Saturday at 12:00 pm ET on ESPN
#7 Utah at Florida: Saturday at 7:00 pm ET on ESPN
Utah State at #1 Alabama: Saturday at 7:30 pm on SECN
#4 Clemson at Georgia Tech: Monday 8:00 pm ET on ESPN
MLB
We have officially entered the final month of the MLB season. Teams are sitting at around ~30 games left for their season, and the playoff picture is far from final. Let’s warm up with some updates around the league before we head into this weekend’s action.
Recent Headlines:
Julio Rodriguez, the 21-year-old outfielder for the Seattle Mariners, signed a $210 million guaranteed contract extension, with the potential to be worth as much as $470 million— which would be the largest contract in American sports history.
Albert Pujols is continuing his chase to the 700 home-run club; he added another one this week to put him at 694. He’ll need to hit at least one in every 5 games for the rest of the season in order to get there.
The Braves have a rookie pitcher to keep an eye on. Spencer Strider set a franchise record with 16 strikeouts in 8 innings on Thursday night.
MVP Race pulse check: The leaders from each league are becoming clearer, at least from an odds perspective. In the National League, Paul Goldschmidt (Cardinals 1B) has -1400 odds, while Aaron Judge (Yankees OF) is the favorite in the American League with -1200 odds.
Series to Watch This Weekend:
New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays still have some ground to make up if they want to challenge the Yankees for their AL East division leader spot, but they are 8-2 in their last 10, so they’re trending in the right direction. This divisional clash is not only important but should feature some good matchups as well.
Game Times 📺: Friday (7:10 pm ET), Saturday (6:10 pm ET), Sunday (1:40 pm ET)
San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers: Another divisional showdown as the two NL West teams meet in Los Angeles for the weekend. The Dodgers lead the division by 17 games, with the Padres being the team in second place. Los Angeles has some room to maintain their division leader playoff spot, while the Padres can’t afford many losses to stay in the wild-card picture.
Game Times 📺: Friday (10:10 pm ET), Saturday (9:10 pm ET), Sunday (1:40 pm ET on ESPN)
Seattle Mariners at Cleveland Guardians: Both teams are currently in the playoff picture for the American League, but not by a comfortable amount. The Minnesota Twins are just one win behind the Guardians, and if they jump ahead of them this weekend, it will kick Cleveland out of the playoffs entirely.
Game Times 📺: Friday (7:10 pm ET), Saturday (7:15 pm ET on FOX), Sunday (2:40 pm ET)
Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox: Here’s a matchup where neither team holds a playoff spot, but it’s a critical series for both teams. As mentioned above, the Twins could take their AL Central leader spot back if they gather one more win than the Guardians this weekend, and the White Sox need to add 5 wins in order to make it into the wild card.
Game Times 📺: Friday (8:10 pm ET), Saturday (7:15 pm ET on FOX), Sunday (2:10 pm ET)
Here’s the full schedule for all 46 games across the MLB this weekend, plus pitching matchups and how you can watch.
📺 What Else to Watch
🏎 Formula 1: The Dutch Grand Prix is the next stop on the F1 circuit, hosted at CM.com Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands. Practice rounds and qualifiers run today & tomorrow, with the main race on Sunday at 9 am ET on ESPN.
🎾 US Open: The US Open continues singles and doubles matches over the course of the long weekend. The third round will be played today and tomorrow for both men’s and women’s divisions, with round of 16 matches throughout Sunday and Monday. Catch all the action on the ESPN networks, Peacock, and Hulu.
🏀 WNBA Playoffs: Both semifinal series are tied as the Las Vegas Aces and the Chicago Sky comeback in convincing fashion in Game 2. Catch Game 3 for each series on Sunday at 1 pm and 3 pm ET.
⚽️ Soccer: Plenty of soccer around the globe this weekend. Here are the schedules for the leagues that we think have the best matchdays.
Headlines
Trending
Jazz Send Donovan Mitchell To Cleveland: Utah’s star guard is heading to the Cavaliers in a trade package that includes Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, Collin Sexton, and three first-round draft picks.
College Football Playoff Eyeing Expansion: The CFP’s board is holding a virtual meeting today that is hoping to accelerate the playoff expanding from more than 4 teams.
Russell Wilson Already Signs Extension: The Broncos are locking in on their new quarterback. Wilson agrees to a five-year, $245 million contract extension, giving him the #2 ranking for highest annual salaried QBs in the NFL behind Aaron Rodgers.
Jalen Reagor Heading to the Vikings: The Philadelphia Eagles WR Jalen Reagor is on his way to Minneapolis after being traded for a 7th-round draft pick in 2023 & a conditional 4th-round draft pick in 2024. Reagor was drafted one pick ahead of Justin Jefferson in 2020.
Conversation Starters
Shaquille Leonard Says He’s Playing Healthy for First Time Since 2018: The Colts linebacker says he has not played an NFL game without injury in over 3 seasons, and has still managed to be named to 3x first-team All-Pros since then.
Harold Varner III Takes Different Approach to Explain LIV Decision: Varner, who recently announced he is heading to the rebel golf tour, wrote a candid note to the world on what led him to the decision, leading to a polarizing reception.
NBA League Pass Slashes Price by 50%: The NBA League Pass, a subscription-based service that gives access to live streaming games across the league, will be sold for $99 this season, which is expected to dramatically increase subscriptions & viewership.
The Endorsement
Athletic Greens
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Meme of the Week
The Knicks were the favorite to trade for Donovan Mitchell since July 14th.
💰 Best Bets
Record on the year: 69-61-4
September 2nd-5th
CFB (9/3): Cincinnati +6.5 (-110) at Arkansas
CFB (9/3): Utah -3 (-110) at Florida
CFB (9/3): Utah State at Alabama -27.5 1H (-110)
*Note: “1H” means first half of the game - so we’re betting on Alabama to be ahead by more than 27.5 points by halftime.
*No Huddle is not an online sports gambling book or gambling platform of any kind. We do not advise the placing of bets or wagers on a sportsbook that is not in compliance with your current local & state laws.
Please bet responsibly. Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
🗓 Today in Sports History
2002 & 2022: Sports Illustrated cover editions 20 years apart. How it started, and how it’s going.
