Starting Five

Five sports topics that will be discussed at water coolers across America

1. Can the Swifties Change Football?

The Scoop: Travis Kelce's minor injury from catching his cleat in the turf during Sunday afternoon's game against the Vikings has sparked an unexpected debate. Some Taylor Swift fans have taken up the argument that's long raged within sub-pockets of sports communities: whether artificial turf is worse for athletes than natural grass. Check out the tweet here. There have been instances where online communities with massive followings have driven real change. If the Swifties organize around this cause, they could make a significant impact on the league for the better.

Conversation Starter: If you could mobilize Taylor’s fanbase to solve one sports issue, what would it be?

2. Oklahoma Survives the Red River Rivalry

The Scoop: The #12 Oklahoma Sooners secured a thrilling 34-30 victory over #3 Texas, with a last-second touchdown propelling them to victory. This fierce rivalry carries significant implications for the 4-team College Football Playoff, especially as Oklahoma remains undefeated and favored in their remaining games. The new rankings have Oklahoma rising to #5, and they seem poised to climb even higher.

Conversation Starter: Will OU and Texas face off again in the conference championship game? Can the Sooners beat Texas twice?

3. MLB Playoffs Quick Fire Talking Points

The Scoop: With only 8 teams left in the MLB playoffs, we've got talking points to fuel your conversations for each playoff matchup.

Conversation Starters: Can Philly stop the Braves? Are the Orioles too inexperienced to make a playoff run? Who do you think will match up in the World Series? Keep reading for more!

4. Niners Dominate in Primetime

The Scoop: In a marquee matchup, the San Francisco 49ers continued their impressive season with a dominant 42-10 victory over the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. The 49ers' defense has been exceptional, and they showcased their talent against a strong Cowboys team in a nationally televised game.

Conversation Starter: Are the 49ers the best team in football?

5. WNBA Finals Tip Off

The Scoop: The defending champion Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty have been on a collision course all year, and they finally meet in the finals. The Aces took Game 1 of the 5-game series. While the TV ratings this year have broken WNBA records, they still lag behind most major sports.

Conversation Starter: How could the WNBA market their product better to reach a wider audience? 🏀📺

What We’re Watching This Week

If you're at a bar, they might be showing these games. Here's what you should know:

Monday Night Football

Green Bay Packers vs Las Vegas Raiders Many Fantasy owners are wondering if Green Bay star Running Back Aaron Jones will play, if not, the 1-3 Raiders could pick up a much needed win

MLB Playoffs

Tuesday - Thursday: Wild Card Round

• Texas Rangers vs Baltimore Orioles: After beating the Rays, the Rangers won games one and two, but the young O’s team was one of the best in baseball, can they mount a comeback?

• Houston Astros vs Minnesota Twins: The Twins won their first playoff series since 2004 over the Blue Jays, but the Cinderella story likely ends here as the Astros took game 1

• Arizona Diamondbacks vs LA Dodgers: A true David vs Goliath, the D-Backs have a young, fun team that won the first game of five against an experienced Dodgers team used to making runs in October.

• Atlanta Braves vs Philadelphia Phillies: The Braves are the best team in baseball and eliminated the Phillies last year, will we see redemption or repeat? The Phillies are off to a 1-0 lead.

• Our picks? The Rangers, Astros, Dodgers, and Phillies will advance

WNBA Playoffs

Game 2: Las Vegas Aces vs New York Liberty: After a dominant game 1 showing, the Aces look likely to repeat as champions!

Subscriber Question of the Week

Do you have a sports topic you want to get smart on? Let us know here.

This week, Arun from New Delhi asked, "I’m a huge cricket fan, so I figured moving to the USA I would get into baseball, but the playoff format is confusing, can you explain how the playoffs work?"

Hi, Arun! We feel for our international friends trying to make sense of the American Sports system, we’ll try to break this down as best we can.

Playoff Selection Criteria

• MLB has two conferences: American League and National League, each with three divisions (East, Central, West), each containing five teams.

• Six teams per conference qualify for the playoffs: three division winners seeded 1-3 based on regular season performance, and three wild card teams based on regular season records.

‘23 American League Playoff Seeds

1. Baltimore Orioles

2. Houston Astros

3. Minnesota Twins

4. Tampa Bay Rays

5. Texas Rangers

6. Toronto Blue Jays

‘23 National League Playoff Seeds

1. Atlanta Braves

2. LA Dodgers

3. Milwaukee Brewers

4. Philadelphia Phillies

5. Miami Marlins

6. Arizona Diamondbacks

Rounds

1. Wild Card Round: Top 2 teams in each league get byes, while teams ranked 3-6 play a best-of-three series to advance

2. Divisional Round: Top league team faces the lowest remaining team, and the second-ranked team plays the higher-ranked Wild Card Round winner in a best-of-five series

3. League Championship Round: Winners of the Divisional Round in each league compete in a best-of-seven series to advance to the World Series

4. World Series: League Championship Round champions meet in a best-of-seven series to determine the MLB champion

Live Bracket

To follow where we are now, see the live bracket here which gives you further information!

We hope this helps!

Get Others in the Game

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Until Thursday,

The Fastbreakk