NBA Prime 100 gamers; UEFA Champions League begins with objectives galore; Saints soar in NFL Energy Rankings

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⚽ Good morning to all, however particularly to …

THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AND SOCCER FANS EVERYWHERE

Nicely that was enjoyable, wasn’t it? With six video games and 28 objectives on the primary day, the UEFA Champions League is off to a flying begin, and nobody is flying greater than Bayern Munich. The Bavarians netted a Champions League-record nine goals in a 9-2 dismantling of Dinamo Zagreb, with Harry Kane scoring 4 objectives to turn out to be the highest-scoring Englishman within the competitors’s historical past.

Chuck Sales space has the five best moments from the day, together with the Aim of the Event … already! Take a bow for this one, Zeno Debast.

Elsewhere, Christian Pulisic scored again for AC Milan, however that was nearly as good because it obtained for the Italian giants in a 3-1 loss to Liverpool. Pulisic continues to be a lone bright spot for Milan, Francesco Porzio writes.

Here is extra:

Trying to immediately’s motion, which you’ll stream, per usual, on Paramount+, the highest recreation is Manchester Metropolis vs. Inter, a rematch of the 2023 ultimate.

As all the time, we’ve got expert picks for every match.

👍 Honorable mentions

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏀 NBA Prime 100 gamers: Risers, fallers, and LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant nonetheless in high 10

It is right here, and it is stunning: our Top 100 NBA Players ahead of the 2024-25 season, as voted on by our NBA writers. Here is the highest 5:

1. Nikola Jokic (final 12 months: 1) — “The one participant on earth who can nearly assure his group a top quality shot each possession, Jokic’s dominance happens each in plain sight and on much less seen margins.” — Brad Botkin
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo (final 12 months: 2) — “Issues might not have gone to plan for Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in the previous couple of years, however he stays probably the most dominant forces within the league on each side of the ball.” — Jack Maloney
3. Luka Doncic (final 12 months: 4) — “He performs on the tempo of paint drying on a wall, and but we noticed within the Mavericks’ run to the NBA Finals that even essentially the most elite defenders could not cease him.” — Jasmyn Wimbish
4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (final 12 months: 11) — “Final 12 months’s MVP runner-up, Gilgeous-Alexander, retains ascending these rankings as his Thunder ascend the standings.” — James Herbert
5. Joel Embiid (final 12 months: 6) — “Arguably essentially the most dominant particular person scorer within the league, Embiid has made nice strides as a hub in Nick Nurse‘s extra motion-oriented offense.” — Brad Botkin

In fact, it was the previous guys — Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant — who carried the load on the Olympics, and so they rank sixth, eight and ninth, respectively. Invoice Reiter reminds us to enjoy it while it lasts.

That is partly as a result of there is a wave of younger gamers coming for the highest spots. Victor Wembanyama, simply 20 years previous, was the biggest riser in this year’s rankings, going from 58th to 12th. Here is Sam Quinn:

• Quinn: “After the All-Star break, Wembanyama averaged 23.5 factors, 12 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 4.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per recreation. I can not think about you will be stunned to listen to nobody has ever finished that for a full season. … He’s the last word marriage of dimension and talent, the end result of every thing this sport has been constructing in the direction of for the previous decade. What’s scariest about that absurd post-break stat line is not how nice it’s, however how underwhelming it should look as compared. In all chance, that is the worst he’ll be for a protracted, very long time.”

Fellow younger massive males Chet Holmgren (68th to thirtieth) and Alperen Sengun (eighty fifth to forty seventh) tied for the second-largest leap. Huge males are again!

I can’t commend our NBA group sufficient. This can be a large enterprise, and any NBA fan ought to be pleased about it. So, another time:

Oh yeah, and Sam ranked all 30 coaches ahead of the season as nicely. To not spoil issues, however Lakers followers, look away.

🏈 NFL Energy Rankings: Saints surging

As I stated final week, Week 1 was for overreacting, and Week 2 is for seeing if it was price it.

However let’s make no overreactions right here: The Saints look legit. Glorious, even. New Orleans jumped 19 spots from twenty fifth to sixth in Pete Prisco’s NFL Power Rankings. That is the largest bounce I’ve seen since I began writing this article. Sure, it is a very small pattern dimension, however new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has taken Derek Carr to a brand new degree:

• Carr is beneath heart on 68% of his snaps (final 12 months: 42%) and utilizing play motion on 52% of his dropbacks (final 12 months: 15%).
• Carr is throwing 18% of his passes no less than 20 yards downfield, on monitor to be the best mark in his profession by far.
• Carr is taking 3+ seconds to throw on 41% of his passes, on tempo to be the best price of his profession.
• Carr has been pressured on an NFL-low 19% of his dropbacks.

Carr for therefore lengthy has been a shotgun, quick-game quarterback. Now, with a extra nuanced offense, Chris Olave (glorious in every single place), Rashid Shaheed (deep risk) and Alvin Kamara (quick recreation) are being maximized, and a doubtlessly worrisome offensive line has some strain taken off of it. I am a giant, massive fan.

Listed below are the 5 groups forward of New Orleans:

1. Chiefs (earlier: 1)
2. Payments (3)
3. Texans (5)
4. Buccaneers (9)
5. Vikings (18)

The Dolphins (tenth to twenty third) have been the biggest faller, and with Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) out until Week 8 and Skylar Thompson taking over, issues would possibly worsen earlier than they get higher.

Lastly, this is one thing we learned about every team in Week 2.

🏈 Projected Faculty Soccer Playoff bracket

Brad Crawford’s latest College Football Playoff projection is right here, and — what’s that? Georgia down at No. 5? Here is why:

• Crawford: “This isn’t an overreaction. There’s potential fear offensively that this group might not have the firepower round quarterback Carson Beck that almost all assumed they’d and the Bulldogs’ offensive line was pushed round by a group that was coming off a 25-point residence loss to South Carolina. Georgia is elite, excellent on protection and ranked No. 2 within the polls, however there’s work to do.”

And that was earlier than information broke that lineman Tate Ratledge (ankle) will miss multiple weeks. I’ve all of the belief on the planet in Kirby Sensible and the Bulldogs to get again on monitor, however there is a massive take a look at in No. 4 Alabama looming Sept. 28.

No. 6 Tennessee can be in Brad’s projected CFP, and the Volunteers are additionally dealing with an enormous recreation: this weekend towards No. 15 Oklahoma. It is likely to be even larger for Brent Venables and the Sooners, who’re 3-0 however have not precisely impressed in wins over Houston and Tulane. Shehan Jeyarajah and Will Backus debated how much of a “must-win” it is for Oklahoma.

• Backus: “If the Volunteers have been to stroll into The Palace on the Prairie and are available out with a cushty win, that may set off a blaring klaxon on Oklahoma’s course beneath Venables, particularly since he is had the higher a part of two years to arrange his group for a transfer to the SEC. Tennessee is able to controlling this recreation with a stifling protection and a run recreation that few groups have been in a position to persistently cease.”

Here is extra:

📺 What we’re watching Wednesday

⚽ We’re watching the UEFA Champions League on Paramount+ and CBS. Here’s how.
⚾ Yankees at Mariners, 9:40 p.m. on Prime Video