WEDNESDAY · SEPTEMBER 30, 2026 · SPORTS, IN SMALL SIPS

Stanley Cup rings usually feature diamonds, but the Carolina Hurricanes' new ring includes something extra: a pig. The ring marks last season with 53 diamond points for each win and 66 rubies for every playoff goal. If you remove the puck-shaped pendant, you'll find Stormy the Ice Hog, the team mascot, made from rubies and diamonds. Each player's number is set around the North Carolina flag, honoring the Storm Surge, which is the Canes' postgame win celebration.

Party crashers... Carolina celebrated its championship banner on Tuesday, but then lost its opener 1-0 to the Florida Panthers. Defenseman Gustav Forsling scored the winning goal with just 4.3 seconds left in overtime.

Home field, allegedly... The Houston Astros hosted their Wild Card series after winning the AL West with an 81-81 record, but the Chicago White Sox (84-78) beat them 6-3 in Game 1. Houston's starting pitcher walked three batters and was pulled in the first inning.

Eight is enough... The eighth-seeded New York Liberty beat the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 87-71, sweeping their best-of-three WNBA playoff series.

Case closed... Case Keenum, 38, completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns—two passing and one rushing from a yard out—as Chicago beat Philadelphia 27-7 on Monday night. His previous start was back on December 24, 2023.

Seven teams, one rodeo... He and Ryan Fitzpatrick are now the only quarterbacks to win starts for seven different NFL teams. After the game, Keenum told his teammates, "I may not be a cowboy, but this ain't my first rodeo."

Eavesdropping, no charge... Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards tried to listen in on Jalen Hurts’ calls before the snap, hoping to catch something familiar. "Maybe I'll hear some familiar stuff," he said, but he didn’t pick up anything useful. "They must have changed language up," he guessed. Still, he managed to intercept Hurts.

— Landen Hull

Big Ben, scoot over... Aaron Rodgers' 165 regular-season wins tie Ben Roethlisberger's, so a win Thursday passes Big Ben in his old uniform.

All times ET.

Correction: Monday we missed the Cubs-Padres series. And the Astros weren't the first division winner without a winning record: the 1981 Royals won half a strike season at 50-53.

Bottoms up. See you Friday.