This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate your time.
The NFC East runs through the Washington Commanders, which is not a thought that anyone has been able to type in, well, over a decade at this point. It’s also probably not where anyone thought we’d be at this point in the season.
If I’d told you last season that the Commanders, led by a rookie quarterback, would be sitting at 3-1 atop their division and in prime playoff position in the NFC, you’d probably have told me that I’d lost it. Even after such a small sample of games, it’s wild that we’re here.
It’s also taken some pretty unprecedented circumstances to get us here. After hanging up 42 points on the Cardinals on Sunday, the Commanders have scored points on 16 straight (!!!!!) offensive possessions.
That’s not all. Jayden Daniels doesn’t throw incompletions, apparently. Daniels has more scoring drives this season than incomplete passes. He’s got the best completion percentage through four games since 2007 Tom Brady, according to ESPN. Yes, that’s when the Patriots had Randy Moss.
This team is, apparently, a juggernaut. And it’s doing it without having a single All-Pro talent on the roster at this point. Well, at least, not yet anyway. Keep this up and a few guys will probably be shoo-ins by the end of the season.
With the Eagles floundering and banged up and the Cowboys, well, kind of doing the same thing, Washington has a real opportunity to run away with this division pretty early on in the season.
It’s not where anyone thought we’d be at this point, considering the talent on each team’s roster. But I can’t lie. This is kind of fun.
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KAT takes New York
I’m not going to lie. When I first read about the Karl-Anthony Towns trade on Friday night, I was pretty confounded by the decision-making. Well, on one side, anyway.
I got what the Knicks were doing. They’d been chasing Towns for a while now and finally landed someone who they hope is a big fish for the big apple. Understandable.
But for the Timberwolves, well, let’s just say I’m still grappling with that one.
Before last season, the Wolves hadn’t won a playoff series since 2004. And the team went all the way to the Western Conference Finals! You’d think that’d be enough incentive to just run things back with the team’s core intact. Towns was a huge part of that core.
Apparently, however, cutting costs was a bit more important at this moment. The Wolves wanted to avoid the dreaded second apron. The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski has more on that.
“Towns will turn 29 in November and has missed at least 22 games in four of his last five seasons. He is set to make $49 million this season and has a $61 million player option in 2027-28. That salary made the market for him quite tepid, team sources said. If KAT were to get injured again or the Timberwolves took a step back competitively, it might have been difficult to move him.”
Look, the Wolves should still be good. Julius Randle wasn’t healthy last year, but he’s been an All-Star and an All-NBA caliber player at his best. Even if the fit isn’t as clean, it should still be solid. Donte DiVincenzo is no slouch, either.
It’s just strange to see a clear title contender in a tough Western Conference making a lateral move at best here. I guess the new CBA is doing its job.
Kelsey Plum vs. Spike Lee
Spike Lee may be giving us a Reggie Miller moment in the WNBA, folks.
The legendary director and all-around hoops fan was getting into it with Aces’ star Kelsey Plum at the Liberty-Aces game on Sunday.
Kelsey and Spike going back and forth with each otherpic.twitter.com/ru5JwOTOfk
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) September 29, 2024
The Liberty took care of business at home, so it didn’t really matter here. But this is just game one. They’ll be back at it again for Game 2 in Brooklyn and, boy, I cannot wait.
As far as what was said between the two of them, Plum revealed a bit after the game. Aside from the trash talk, she talked about how cool it was to see Spike at the game.
“I can’t say exactly what was said, but I told him that he should talk louder,” Plum said. “But it was all well and fun and really cool that he’s here, even last round was really cool. I was here. I know he’s big sports fan.”
Plum is absolutely right. This is another sign that the WNBA is growing as a league and pulling big names into the stands.
You’ve got to love to see that. Keep talking, Spike.
Quick hits: Things we learned from Week 4 … Patrick Mahomes might be the GOAT … and more
— Here’s Christian D’Andrea with everything we learned from Week 4 this season, including more on my feckless Eagles.
— Pat Mahomes keeps winning despite all the chaos around the Chiefs. Robert Zeglinksi says he’s the GOAT if he wins the Super Bowl like this.
— Caitlin Clark says her welcome to the league moment was that ruptured ear drum from earlier this year. Here’s Charles Curtis with more.
— The Mets and Braves doubleheader still counts for fantasy baseball. Charles has more on how that will impact your team.
— Here’s Prince Grimes on how this missed safety call had bettors in a tizzy in the Jags-Texans game.
— Joe Flacco appreciates Anthony Richardson appreciating him. Here’s Andrew Joseph with more.
That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you. Happy Monday. Let’s do this again tomorrow. Peace.
-Sykes ✌️