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.
Folks, it’s finally happening. The Sabrina Ionescu experience is here.
I know what some of you are probably saying. “Sykes, she’s an All-Star. What are you talking about?” And, look. I guess that’s totally fair.
But I remember when Ionescu was drafted. I remember the hype. Coming out of Oregon, she was Caitlin Clark before there was Caitlin Clark. She’d smashed record after record with the Ducks. She became the first player in NCAA history to amass 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds. She’s also the NCAA’s all-time triple-double leader with 26. According to HerHoopStats, no Division I program besides Oregon and Iowa has more than 11 triple-doubles.
We expected more of that when she came to the WNBA. We hadn’t quite gotten it. That is, until now.
Ionescu isn’t grabbing triple-doubles, but she’s dominating the Aces the same way she used to dominate in college. So far, she’s averaging 24.5 points per game through these playoffs with incredible efficiency. She’s shooting 53 percent from the floor, 42 percent from deep and 93 percent from the free throw line.
She’s also the second player in league history to score at least 20 points and dish out five assists while shooting 50 percent from the floor in at least three straight games.
On a team with Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, Ionescu has clearly been the Liberty’s best offensive player and a bellwether for success. In a series with Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young on the other side, she’s been the best guard on the court. She dominated the Aces with 11 fourth-quarter points to put Game 2 away.
Things only get harder from here. Las Vegas’ back is against the wall. The series heads back west, and the reigning MVP of the league will surely do everything in her power to shift the series back to New York. It will be up to Ionescu and her team to put them away.
If Ionescu can keep her momentum going, it should be on to the WNBA Finals again for the Liberty.
The Astros are in trouble
The Houston Astros have been a fixture for the playoffs in Major League Baseball for nearly a decade.
The Stros have been to seven straight ALCS series, which is an American League record and something that only the Atlanta Braves (1991-99) have accomplished in MLB history.
Yet, all good things must someday come to an end. That end might be near for that Astros streak, with Houston in danger of losing to the Detroit Tigers in the Wild Card round. The Astros fell 3-1 to the Tigers in Game 1.
Framber Valdez had been at his sharpest in the second half of the season for Houston, but gave up a walk and three hits in the second inning to give the Tigers a three-run cushion that Detroit never let go of.
This continues a shaky postseason streak for Valdez, who didn’t fare much better on the mound in the 2023 playoffs through three appearances. The margin of error is so razor-thin in this short series. He may have just cost his team a shot at advancing.
It’s not all on him. The Stros’ bats could only muster up one run the entire game. But Detroit getting off to such a fast start certainly didn’t help things.
The Tigers will have to fight for survival again on Wednesday in Game 2. We’ll see how it shakes out.
Davante Adams, you are NOT a Chief
Davante Adams will definitely be on the move soon. The Raiders receiver has officially requested a trade from Las Vegas and the team seems more than willing to oblige.
Yesterday, I said I thought the Chiefs were a good fit. Today, Christian D’Andrea explains why that’s actually a pretty silly idea.
“It would take a Godfather offer for Las Vegas to hand over a player who would drastically improve the odds of a Kansas City Super Bowl three-peat. But adding Adams would be a boon for Patrick Mahomes’ passing game — one that’s steadily dialed back its frequency of deep and intermediate throws since Tyreek Hill became a Miami Dolphin. The veteran wideout would be a focus-pulling presence capable of thriving near the sideline or in the middle of the field. He’d help Xavier Worthy fulfill his potential as a perpetual game-breaking threat.
The Chiefs are unlikely to give up what it would take to convince the Raiders to trade a star player to a team they hate. Kansas City also has minimal cap space to make this happen, particularly with Trey Smith and Nick Bolton headed toward free agency. But no one needs Adams more than the Chiefs need him, so the fit had to at least be addressed here even if there’s a one in 1,000 chance it actually happens.”
Basically, the Raiders are too petty and the Chiefs don’t have enough cap space actually to make this happen. It’s a nice idea, but it’s probably a pipe dream, Chiefs fans.
My bad. But you should still read Christian on the best trade fits for Adams and why the Cowboys and Browns shouldn’t really be considered, either.
Quick hits: Debate memes … Quarterback tiers … and more
— Here’s Charles Curtis with the five best memes from the vice presidential debate on Tuesday night.
— Here’s Christian with his quarterback rankings for Week 4. Jayden Daniels is your new king.
— Here’s Robert Zeglinski with his weekly fantasy studs, duds and sleepers. Sam Darnold revenge game OTW for Week 5.
— Here’s Cory Woodroof with more on Kyle Pitts needing more opportunity to create explosive plays in the Falcons offense. Free Kyle Pitts, man.
— Here’s Andrew Joseph on why there are STRAUSS ads on MLB helmets during the playoffs.
— And here’s Meg Hall on Serena Williams claiming Ryan Williams as her play-cousin.
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. We appreciate your time. Have a fantastic Wednesday.
-Sykes ✌️