Edition 17

A quick rundown of the biggest stories in sports—without assuming you know every player, rule, or stat. Whether you’re at happy hour, in the office, watching with friends, or on a date with a sports fanatic, you’ll have something to contribute to the conversation.

This week was… a lot.

A Champions League team scored NINE goals. No. 1 Miami lost. Ohio State lost AGAIN. The Warriors somehow went from 0–3 to winning eight straight.

Cooper Flagg dropped 43 points at 19 years old.

And the Panthers once again got close enough to make me believe… just to lose anyway.

Sports are deeply unserious.

Let’s get into it.

The Panthers looked significantly better against Denver.

Bryce Young threw for 276 yards and three touchdowns, the defense showed some life under interim DC Todd Wash, and Carolina actually had a chance to win late.

And then…

13 penalties for 119 yards.

A bizarre end-zone interception. Another protection breakdown. And Bryce getting strip-sacked on the final drive.

Denver won 26–21, and Carolina has now lost three straight.

At some point, “we almost had it” stops being encouraging.

Okay, THIS is insane.

Italian club Como beat Lens 9–1 in the Champions League.

NINE.

Not only is Como playing in its first-ever Champions League campaign, the win tied the biggest victory in Champions League history.

Imagine finally making the Champions League and immediately deciding:

Yeah, we’re just going to make history real quick.

Casual.

Notre Dame beat previously undefeated No. 1 Miami 31–24, completely shaking up the rankings again.

And because apparently that wasn’t enough chaos, Oregon beat Ohio State 41–28, sending the Buckeyes tumbling all the way to No. 21.

Georgia is now back at No. 1, Utah moved to No. 2 and Notre Dame climbed to No. 3.

At this point, being ranked near the top feels more like a threat than an accomplishment.

The Warriors started the season 0–3.

Naturally, they have now won EIGHT STRAIGHT.

Golden State absolutely demolished New Orleans 138–87 Monday night and became the first NBA team ever to win eight straight immediately after starting 0–3.

A 51-point win.

Eight straight victories.

Apparently the first three games were just a warm-up.

Cooper Flagg dropped 43 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in Dallas’ win over Indiana.

At 19, he became only the second teenager in NBA history with at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a game.

Nineteen.

When I was 19 I was just worried about making It to class on time.

⚽️ BARCELONA VS. ARSENAL (Thursday, Nov. 12 - 12:45 PM ET)
A rematch of the 2025 Women’s Champions League Final, with Barcelona entering Matchday 4 perfect so far.

🏈 COMMANDERS @ GIANTS (Thursday, Nov. 12 - 8:15 PM ET)
NFC East rivalry. The Giants are coming off a big win over Philly, while Washington desperately needs one.

⚽️ NATIONS LEAGUE - Italy vs. France (Thursday, Nov. 12)
Two European heavyweights. That’s really all the explanation you need.

🏈 COLLEGE GAME OF THE WEEK - Texas @ LSU (Saturday, Nov. 14 - 7:30 PM ET)
Texas heads into Death Valley for a ranked SEC matchup.

Saturday night LSU games are rarely peaceful.

Also worth watching: No. 15 USC @ No. 6 Indiana at 3:30 PM.

🏈 PANTHERS @ SAINTS (Sunday, Nov. 15 - 1:00 PM ET)
Carolina has lost three straight.

If there were ever a time to fix that, beating a division rival would be nice.

⚽️ NATIONS LEAGUE - Spain vs. England (Sunday, Nov. 15)
Spain–England in Nations League play.

Yeahhhh I’ll be watching.

🏈 STEELERS @ BENGALS (Sunday, Nov. 15 - 8:20PM ET)
Division rivalry under the lights.

Those usually behave completely normally!

🏈 CHARGERS @ RAVENS (Monday, Nov. 16- 8:15PM ET)
I’m going to be so serious with you…

this is not exactly appointment television.

Two struggling teams under the lights, which means this could either be surprisingly entertaining or exactly as ugly as it sounds.

Watch at your own risk.

🇹🇷 LIVERPOOL GOT STUNNED IN ISTANBUL. Fenerbahçe beat Liverpool 3–2 in the Champions League. Istanbul remains a very unserious place to play soccer.

🔴 MAN UNITED CAME BACK FROM TWO GOALS DOWN… AGAIN. United scored twice in stoppage time to draw Aston Villa 4–4 — just days after coming back from 2–0 down to beat Roma. They are also somehow still sitting in the relegation zone.

⭐️ BARÇA HANDLED BUSINESS. Barcelona came from behind to beat Atlético Madrid 2–1 and keep its three-point lead over Real Madrid atop La Liga.

🐕 QUINN THE CORGI WON THE WEEKEND. A corgi named Quinn escaped during the Panthers’ halftime race and proceeded to juke basically everyone trying to catch her. She didn’t win the actual race, but she absolutely won the internet.

🐔 USC KEEPS ROLLING. The Gamecocks beat Texas A&M 17–9 for their fourth straight win, with LaNorris Sellers sealing it on a 41-yard touchdown run despite playing through an ankle injury.

😬 CARSON WENTZ HAD A NIGHT TO FORGET. Wentz went 8-for-25 for 81 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions in Minnesota’s 23–6 loss to Buffalo. His passer rating? 8.9.

Yes. Eight point nine.

At that point, maybe we just delete the film.

Knicks guard Tyler Kolek was asked who the “fakest” celebrity Knicks fan is.

His answer?

Taylor Swift.

He called her appearances at Knicks games “a little performative” and basically questioned whether she was actually a fan.

And listen…

You are allowed to have opinions.

But choosing Taylor Swift as the person you want to publicly question??

That is a level of confidence I simply do not possess.

Even his teammate immediately warned him:

The Swifties are not going to like that.

Spoiler alert:

They did not.

The clip went viral, the Knicks basically came out and reminded everyone that Taylor has supported the team for YEARS, and Kolek very quickly started walking it back.

Then we find out this man has literally been to the Eras Tour.

His girlfriend even jumped in to remind everyone he attended.

AND THEN his teammate posted a video of him singing “Blank Space” in the locker room.

Oh, and Kolek later posted an Instagram caption saying “Tyler’s Version.”

Sir.

You went from calling her fake to essentially submitting a formal application for Swiftie witness protection in about 48 hours.

Because here is the thing about Swifties:

they have screenshots, timestamps, photographic evidence and apparently unlimited free time.

You cannot just say something about Taylor Swift and assume nobody is going to fact-check you back to 2009.

He poked the hive…

and then immediately started singing Taylor songs.

Lesson learned: choose your battles. ☕️

I’m officially over the moral victories.

Because once again…

the Panthers were RIGHT THERE.

And I’m still stuck on that end-zone interception.

I was honestly SHOCKED that not only was it ruled an interception… but there was no defensive PI either??

Like… we’re just moving on from that???

But also — the refs did not commit 13 penalties for 119 yards for us. You cannot keep giving teams free yards and expect to win close games.

And then, when we actually had a chance on the final drive?

Bryce gets strip-sacked.

Again.

Which brings me to Dave Canales.

I understand not wanting to get into it with the refs after the game. I get not wanting the fine, the drama, whatever.

But at least stand up for your team.

That shit matters.

Your players just fought for four quarters, there was a MASSIVE call at the end of the game that could have changed everything, and I need a little more than “we’ll look at the tape.”

Get mad. Back your guys. Let them know you’re fighting for them too.

I appreciate that Dave is positive. Truly.

But I am SICK of Mr. Positive after every loss.

Give me a little more KEEP POUNDING energy.

We are past the point of “there were some good things to build on.”

No.

WIN THE FOOTBALL GAME.

I don’t need another speech about progress.

I need four quarters, fewer penalties, Bryce upright and a coach who isn’t afraid to show a little fire when his team deserves it.

Maybe stop being so soft and start pounding.

….Respectfully.

A soccer match once ended 149–0.

Yes.

One hundred forty-nine to zero.

It happened in Madagascar in 2002, when one team intentionally kept scoring own goals to protest a refereeing decision from a previous match.

So technically, the other team barely had to do anything.

149 goals.

“Como just won a Champions League game 9–1.”

Yes.

NINE to one.

And they did it during their first-ever Champions League campaign, tying the largest victory in the competition’s history.

If the soccer conversation starts this week?

There you go.

I feel like this week was one giant reminder that nothing in sports stays normal for very long.

Como scored NINE goals in a Champions League game.

No. 1 Miami lost.

Ohio State got humbled again.

Cooper Flagg is 19 years old casually dropping 40.

And the Panthers continue to find new and creative ways to ruin my Sunday afternoon.

At this point, I’ve stopped trying to predict anything.

I’m just here for the chaos.

See you next week.

Now you know. 💚