Hey Sippers,
College basketball isn’t limited to regular hours. The season started Monday with nonstop games from the Field of 68, an online hoops network. High Point played Liberty at 12:01 a.m. ET, and Grambling faced Northern Illinois at 3 a.m. Since there’s no central schedule for opening day, networks can set games whenever they want. Someone actually chose 3 a.m. on purpose.
THE RUNDOWN
Forty, for naught. Ty Jerome put up 40 points for Memphis, but the Grizzlies still suffered their first loss of the season, falling 135 to 134 in overtime to New Orleans. Pelicans rookie Jeremiah Fears hit the winning free throws with 7.3 seconds left.
Six appeal. PSG scored four goals in the first 17 minutes of their Champions League match at Villarreal and went on to win 6 to 0. That same night in Spain, Barcelona's Lamine Yamal became the highest-scoring teenager in the competition's history.
Triple shift. The Columbus Blue Jackets, who had been averaging 2.4 goals per game, nearly tripled that number in a 7 to 2 win over one of the NHL's highest-scoring teams, Colorado.
THE SIT-DOWN
In the college football playoff committee's first rankings, Ohio State is eight spots behind a team it already beat. The bracket math makes things look even worse.
Beat the team, lost the vote. The first College Football Playoff rankings came out Tuesday: Miami is No. 1, Georgia is No. 2, Utah is No. 3, and Indiana is No. 4. Ohio State, which beat Indiana in October, starts at No. 12.
The fine print. A ranking is just an opinion, but the bracket follows strict rules. Five of the 12 playoff spots automatically go to the highest-ranked conference champions, even if one is ranked as low as 25th. That’s why ESPN’s projected bracket puts No. 25 Boise State in and leaves No. 12 Ohio State out.
About Saturday. Early rankings often change in November. The committee will vote again next week, and the upcoming games will shape the conversation. Five matchups this Saturday feature top-14 teams, including No. 1 Miami at No. 11 Notre Dame.
— Landen Hull
CALL IT
That was quick. On Monday in Cleveland, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up a season-high 43 points and nailed the go-ahead three with 32.6 seconds left. The Thunder beat the Cavaliers 117-112. The rematch is tonight in Oklahoma City at 8:00 ET.
Last call. Your Monday pick: Bears 34, Seahawks 17. Jeffery Simmons, traded to Chicago four days earlier, tied for the team lead with six tackles and added a sack.
QUICK SIP
Today's N1 Trivia asks: Which of these NFL teams was founded first? Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, or Dallas Cowboys.
One answer counts toward your N1R; the daily streak only moves when you finish all of today's questions in the app. Answer at the bottom.
QUICK NUMBER
Ten for ten. Carolina’s Pyotr Kochetkov started the season with 10 straight wins, becoming only the third goalie in NHL history to do that. His streak ended Tuesday in Nashville, so Jack Campbell’s record of 11 straight wins to start 2020-21 still stands.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Tonight: Cavaliers at Thunder (your Call It), 8:00 ET
Thursday: Jaguars at Ravens, 8:15 ET, Prime Video
Saturday: No. 9 BYU at No. 3 Utah, noon ET, ABC. That's a 10 a.m. kickoff in Salt Lake City.
Saturday: MLS Decision Day, the regular season's finale: every Eastern game at 4 ET, every Western game at 7 ET
Saturday: No. 1 Miami at No. 11 Notre Dame, 7:30 ET, NBC
WHAT ELSE WE'RE SIPPING
Split: Monday we flagged Connor McDavid's point streak visiting New Jersey. The streak hit 16 games; Devils goalie Connor Hellebuyck got the win anyway, 4–3 in a shootout. (NHL.com)
Bought out: Florida State fired Mike Norvell and will pay just over $48.6 million for the privilege, the fifth head coach in college football's top division fired since Oct. 21. (CBS Sports)
Salaried: A new NHL rule requires all 32 teams to employ a traveling emergency backup goalie. Calgary's is Dusty Nickel, 35, who runs a construction business and will wear #00. (FlamesNation)
Quick Sip answer: Dallas Cowboys. They were founded in 1960, eight years before the Bengals played a down and 35 years before the Jaguars took the field.
Bottoms up. See you Friday.