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. Thanks so much for reading the Morning Win today. We appreciate you. Let’s talk Orioles.
In a pretty shocking turn of events, the best team in the American League this season just got swept by the Texas Rangers. Baltimore lost a Game 3 that was never really close — the O’s fell down 6-0 after 2 innings and the game was over just like that.
Look, Orioles fans. I know this has to be pretty heartbreaking.
I know you’re sad right now and, truthfully, I can’t blame you. That’s the worst way to go out — without actually putting up a real fight. The O’s haven’t won a postseason game in almost a decade. They couldn’t get just one win here? As the best team in their respective league? That’s wild.
It felt like this team was destined to do something special all season long. You felt it. We all felt it. Guess what? We were all wrong. Every single one of us. It happens.
But, hey, man. It happens. Texas is a buzzsaw right now. The Rangers are undefeated in the playoffs and are outscoring opponents 32-12 after last night’s action. It is what it is.
Here’s the thing, though. Orioles fans, you should still be extremely proud of this team.
Not to be condescending, but were the O’s supposed to be here anyway? This is the same franchise that only won 29 percent of its games back in 2018. It was one of the worst teams we’ve ever seen in Major League Baseball.
For Baltimore to be in a position where it’s not only competent but also thriving just five years later? That’s a major win. No matter what happened this season, it was always going to be that.
Yes, there will need to be some tweaks. The Orioles absolutely have to get some pitching to support those big bats. But it’s doable. The blueprint is there. Baltimore was just clearly a little bit ahead of schedule. That’s alright. You live and you learn.
Baltimore will be back and probably a lot better than it is now. That’s a scary sight for the rest of the league.
Dillon Brooks can’t help himself
Sigh. Dillon Brooks is back, folks. Which also means his shenanigans are back, too.
The dude got ejected five minutes into a preseason game.
Cory Woodruff has more on the situation:
“Not even five minutes into his preseason debut with the Houston Rockets, and Dillon Brooks has already been ejected.
After he looked to have hit Indiana Pacers forward Daniel Theis below the waste, the referee ejected Brooks from the contest as Theis stayed down for a second and looked like he was in legitimate pain.
Brooks has become one of the NBA’s premiere villains, and he wasted no time in his Rockets debut to further establish that fact.”
I’m going to be honest with you guys — I really, really want to root for Dillon Brooks. I think Memphis gave the dude a pretty raw deal.
He’s one of the best perimeter defenders out there. Sure, he takes terrible shots. But that’s got to be of some use. Why would the Grizzlies completely rule out bringing him back?
Then he does something like this and reminds you exactly why. Good luck with this one, Rockets.
A bad scoop
News broke on Tuesday night that former WNBA star and Pelicans assistant coach Teresa Weatherspoon was hired by the Chicago Sky for the team’s head coaching job.
It’s great. She absolutely deserves this job and will certainly make the Sky a better team. That’s all awesome.
What’s not so awesome is how this news broke.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania was the one who came through with the scoop on the reported deal. He’s a non-WNBA reporter breaking WNBA news. It was a bit odd.
It makes sense for Charania — this is his bread and butter. I mean, he scooped everyone when President Trump had COVID-19. It’s just what he does.
But many who cover the W were upset about this. It’s understandable why — this is a league building itself up and the media infrastructure around it is still building, too. It’s hard to keep building that infrastructure when scoopers who dip in and out of the league come through and break the biggest news.
The news would’ve come out regardless. We don’t know how it leaked or who leaked it. It’d just be nice to see reporters with a bit more rapport with both the league’s teams and its fans getting in on that action more often.
Photo of the day
Here’s Mark Stone absolutely flexing with the Stanley Cup heading into the Vegas Golden Knights’ home opener against the Seattle Kraken.
This is so cool, man. The NHL is back, baby.
Quick hits: BROCK PURDY FOR MVP!?!? … The most fireable coaches in the NFL after Week 5 … and more
— I don’t know if Brock Purdy is the best QB in the NFL, but he’s definitely been the most efficient. That’s why he’s at the top of Christian D’Andrea’s QB rankings for the week. I am SHOCKED.
— Christian also put together a list of coaches on the hot seat and, wait, what, BILL BELICHIK?!?
— Charles Curtis has more on the Texas Rangers’ obsession with Creed
— This welcome to the NHL moment for Connor Bedard was so cool. Cory Woodruff has more.
— We’ve got the best bets on NHL over/unders here for you.
— This tribute from ESPN to Barry Melrose is fantastic. Shoutout to Wayne Gretzky.
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading today. Hope you enjoyed the content! Let’s chat again tomorrow.
Until next time.