On paper, this year’s World Series between the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies looks like a gigantic mismatch. The Astros won 106 games during the regular season, with a plus-219 run differential, 57.7 wins above replacement and a 1589 Elo rating; the Phillies won 87 with a plus-62 differential, 42.0 WAR and a 1547 Elo. […]
Kyle Shanahan is in his feelings. The head coach of the San Francisco 49ers misses his former offensive coordinator (and current Miami Dolphins head coach) Mike McDaniel, and the Niners offense is suffering mightily in McDaniel’s absence. Well, at least that’s the narrative in San Francisco so far this season. It’s compelling — but is […]
Nobody has won a World Series without losing a postseason game since 1976. Of course, Major League Baseball’s playoffs were smaller back then: The ’76 Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game National League Championship Series, then swept the New York Yankees in a four-game World Series. The playoffs were an even more […]
When the Philadelphia Phillies take the field in Houston to start off the World Series on Friday, they’ll send Aaron Nola to the mound with the task of setting the tone. It’s a perfect fit — and not just because Nola led the team in pitching wins above replacement during the regular season. The 29-year-old […]
This college football season has been a little brighter than usual. Two weeks ago, an orange crush of more than 100,000 fans converged on Neyland Stadium after the Tennessee Volunteers toppled the Alabama Crimson Tide on a last-second field goal. It was perhaps the most indelible image of the season yet — a status that […]