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! Happy Friday. Thanks so much for spending a little time with us here to start off your morning.
The World Series begins Friday night! The two best teams in baseball are about to clash in what should be a showdown of epic proportions.
HONORING VALENZUELA: The Dodgers will wear No. 34 patches on their jerseys next season to honor Fernando Valenzuela
On one side, you’ve got a 90-plus win team with a likely league MVP and home run king waiting in the wings. Conversely, you’ve got a 90-plus win team with a likely league MVP and home run king waiting in the wings.
Do you see what I did there? Shohei Ohtani vs. Aaron Judge has the potential to be so special. These are arguably the two best players in their respective leagues going head-to-head against each other. It’s the Kobe and LeBron Finals fans in the NBA never got. It’s the Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady Super Bowl NFL fans have always dreamed of. MLB fans are so lucky to see this.
To that point, there are so many things that make this a once-in-a-lifetime event, NBC News’ Rohan Nadkarni writes.
It’s the first time the Yankees and Dodgers have played one another in a World Series since 1981. It’s the first time the home run kings from the AL and NL have played against one another in a World Series since 1956 and the first time they’ve ever both hit at least 50 homers in a season.
I haven’t even begun to mention their teammates — some of whom have had MVP-worthy seasons themselves at one time or another. The combination of Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto has been impressive this postseason, with the latter two holding their MVP down through an early postseason slump.
The same can be said for Ohtani, Kiké Hernandez and Mookie Betts on the Dodgers’ side. You can throw Freddie Freeman in there, too. When you start adding some of these names up, this sounds less like a World Series and more like an All-Star game.
I have no idea how this series will end or which team will come out on top, but that’s the beauty of this. You don’t know. It should be a closely-contested series with elite baseball played on both sides.
I love the upsets we’ve seen in MLB in recent years with underdogs climbing their way into the playoffs and competing for championships. That’s always a cool story and something extremely easy to root for.
But, sometimes, you just want to see the best of the best duke it out to find out who the best team really is. We’re getting that here. I can’t wait to watch it.
Don’t worry about the Vikings … yet
The Minnesota Vikings have lost two straight games after a blistering 5-0 start to the season.
Dropping two straight in arguably the best division in football this season could potentially be a major setback — especially considering one of those two games was a nail-biter against the Lions, who are now at the top of their division and the conference.
At 5-2, the Vikings are still in the thick of things. But the Packers (5-2) and Bears (4-2) are both right there and certainly seem to be playing their best football right now as Minnesota has slowed down.
But it’s way too early to overreact to a couple of setbacks.
The Vikings lost a close one to the Lions on a late field goal. On Thursday against the Rams, a controversial (and VERY obvious) facemask no-call leading to a safety put the game out of reach.
REFS TRIED TO EXPLAIN: But the explanation simply isn’t good enough.
Considering how close those two losses were and who they were to, I’d say Vikings fans should still be pretty confident in their team.
Plus, with three straight weeks against AFC South opponents coming up, things should be set straight pretty soon.
Chet Holmgren, the destroyer
It’s hard to make Nikola Jokic look silly. He’s the NBA’s reigning MVP and the best player in the NBA.
But Chet Holmgren did just that more than a few times on Thursday night when the Thunder absolutely dominated the Nuggets on the road.
This stretch right here? Whew, man. The block. The staredown. The dunk.
CHET HOLMGREN IS A SUPERSTAR
— TF (@ThunderFocus) October 25, 2024
He finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and two steals on the night. In a game where Jokic and, even his own teammate, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, were playing, Holmgren was the best player on the floor.
If this is the sort of season we’re in for from Chet, the Thunder’s already awesome trajectory shoots up even higher.
Photo Friday: The Queen of New York
Breanna Stewart was totally in her element during the Liberty’s championship parade. You absolutely love to see it.
STEWIE HAD THE TIME OF HER LIFE: See more photos from the Liberty’s parade here.
Quick hits: Robert Saleh’s revenge … The best moments from the Liberty parade … and more
— Robert Saleh going to the Packers after being fired by the Jets feels like a sweet slight to Aaron Rodgers. Robert Zeglinski has more here.
— Here’s Meg Hall with the 10 best moments from the Liberty championship parade. They had so much fun.
— Prince Grimes has the best prop bets for Week 8 in the NFL, including a big game for Jalen Hurts.
— Here’s Charles Curtis on the Cooper Kupp trade rumors being put to bed (for now).
— We ranked the NBA Cup courts for the season. You’ll be shocked to know that we hated them.
— Here’s Christian D’Andrea with the best bets for Week 8 in the NFL.
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. Appreciate you! Have a fantastic weekend. Peace.
-Sykes ✌️