⚾️🏈🏀🏒 Y! Sports AM: The 33rd Sports Equinox

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⚾️🏈🏀🏒 Y! Sports AM: The 33rd Sports Equinox

Mon, Oct 26, 2026 ·

11 min read

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🚨 Headlines

🏀 NBA rundown:Luka Dončić dropped 52 points for the undefeated Lakers … The defending champs have yet to win a game … Jalen Williams' gruesome leg injury left his OKC teammates in tears … Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are beefing (kind of) … The Warriors are 0-3 for the first time in Steph Curry's career .

🏎️ Kimi wins in Austin:Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) won the United States Grand Prix from pole position, finishing ahead of Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) as he inched closer to clinching the Formula 1 world title.

🏀 All-WNBA First Team:A'ja Wilson (Aces), Caitlin Clark (Fever), Kelsey Mitchell (Fever), Olivia Miles (Lynx) and Breanna Stewart (Liberty) earned 2026 All-WNBA First Team selections . The Second Team was headlined by Angel Reese (Dream) and Paige Bueckers (Wings).

🏒 Hellebuyck gets his wish:The Jets shipped star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to the Devils in exchange for four players and two draft picks, ending a saga that began in August when the three-time Vezina Trophy winner (best NHL goalie) went public with a trade request.

🏈 Aranda, Doeren fired:Baylor fired Dave Aranda after seven seasons at the helm (40-40 record), while NC State decided to move on from Dave Doeren after 14 years (98-74 record). One notable name the Wolfpack could reportedly target? Philip Rivers.

🪐 The 33rd Sports Equinox

The "Big Four" North American sports leagues are all in action today. We call it a " Sports Equinox ," and this is just the 33rd time it's ever happened.

Tonight's slate:

⚾️ World Series, Game 3:The Rays host the Brewers (8pm ET, Fox) following an 0-2 trip to Milwaukee. Former Brewers ace Freddy Peralta takes the mound for Tampa Bay.
🏈 Monday Night Football:The Eagles host the Cowboys (8:15pm, ESPN/ABC) in an NFC East showdown. Both teams are 2-4 but still very much alive in their weak division.
🏀 NBA (9 games):Timberwolves at Cavaliers, Wizards at Hornets, Bulls at Celtics, Mavericks at Heat, Pacers at Bucks, Suns at Thunder, Hawks at Rockets, Grizzlies at Jazz, Warriors at Nuggets (10pm, Peacock) .
🏒 NHL (3 games):Kings at Rangers (7pm, NHL) , Maple Leafs at Flames, Red Wings at Oilers.

But wait, there's more:Tonight's slate also includes Game 5 of the WNBA Finals in San Francisco (8pm, USA) , where the Valkyries will look to go up 3-2 on the Dream after evening the series on Saturday in Atlanta . This is only the second time that the WNBA has joined the Sports Equinox party, but the league's expanding schedule will make women's hoops a mainstay moving forward.

Origin story:The first Sports Equinox took place on Sunday, Oct. 17, 1971. Roberto Clemente and the Pirates beat the Orioles in Game 7 of the World Series on a day that also featured 12 NFL games , six NHL games and three NBA games .

Nine more Sports Equinoxes occurred between 1972-85, all on Sundays, before they nearly disappeared for two decades. From 1986-2008, only one Equinox took place: Nov. 4, 2001.
Nowadays, it's an annual tradition. With the World Series starting later, the NBA and NHL tipping off earlier and "Thursday Night Football" airing weekly, there's been at least one Sports Equinox every year since 2015.

The 2020s:There was a brief Sports Equinox boom during the pandemic, when COVID-era scheduling resulted in eight occurrences between 2020-22. Since then, there's been exactly one each year, including this one. With the World Series off on Thursday and set to end no later than Saturday, today will be the only Sports Equinox of 2026.

⚾️ Halfway home: Brewers take 2-0 lead

In a World Series between two clubs that thrive on mastering the little things, it's only fitting that the first two games were determined by the slimmest of margins. Milwaukee held serve at home with a pair of one-run victories, putting the NL champions firmly in the driver's seat.

Game 1:The Brewers beat the Rays, 3-2, in a game defined by near-misses and coin-flip plays . It was also the first World Series opener since 2000 to feature zero home runs. The most impactful hit, as shown in the chart above, was Christian Yelich's first-inning triple . But no player left a bigger mark than Milwaukee catcher William Contreras , who shined with his bat (2-3, RBI), his arm (two caught stealing) and his ABS challenges (2-for-2).

Game 2:The Brewers won 5-4 on Saturday in a rollercoaster game that saw Tampa Bay take a 4-0 lead five batters in and featured a whopping 11 plays that swung Milwaukee's win probability by at least 10 percentage points. The night's biggest moment came in the sixth inning when Sal Frelick hit his first home run off a lefty since Opening Day. Milwaukee is now 4-1 this postseason in games they trailed by 2+ runs. All other teams in such games? 4-29.

Milwaukee's not-so-secret weapon:The Brewers' bullpen has been lights out this month, posting a sterling 1.24 ERA across 50.2 innings and notching a playoff-record eight saves. They continued to dominate this weekend, with relievers Aaron Ashby* (+9.6%) and Abner Uribe (+8.3%) leading all players in Championship Win Probability Added (cWPA).

Looking ahead:Game 3 is tonight in St. Petersburg, where the Rays will look to begin their comeback. History says that won't be easy: MLB teams trailing 0-2 in a best-of-seven series have gone on to win that series just 16 of 96 times (17%).

Good read: The Rays are learning the hard way what the Padres and Dodgers already know — these Brewers are relentless (Jake Mintz, Yahoo Sports)

*The hottest pitcher on the planet: Ashby has thrown 15.2 scoreless innings during these playoffs, putting him two outs away from breaking Andrew Miller's record for the longest streak of consecutive scoreless innings by a reliever to open a postseason. Not bad for a guy who entered October with a dismal 7.71 career postseason ERA.

🏈 NFL scoreboard

Sunday's Week 7 slate featured 12 games spread across three broadcast windows — and two continents.

Early window:The Steelers beat the Saints in Paris … Minnesota stayed unbeaten while San Francisco suffered its first loss … The Dolphins got their first win … The Browns and Giants won nail-biters … The Bucs and Bengals romped to blowout victories.

Steelers 16, Saints 10:Aaron Rodgers notched his 540th passing TD in France, moving him past Peyton Manning for third on the all-time list.
Vikings 16, Colts 10:Minnesota's 125 points are tied for the second-fewest by a 6-0 team since 1940. The team they're tied with? The 1973… Vikings!
Falcons 29, 49ers 20:Atlanta in two games without Michael Penix Jr. at QB: 0-2, 8 ppg. Atlanta in five games since he made his debut: 3-2, 31 ppg.
Dolphins 28, Jets 25:Miami hadn't held the lead for a single play all season entering Sunday's game… where they didn't trail for a single play.
Browns 27, Titans 24:This is the first time since 2014 that Cleveland (5-2) sits atop the AFC North in Week 7 or later. Five wins, five game-winning drives.
Giants 27, Texans 21 (OT):For the first time since 1950, four different Giants scored a rushing TD in the same game.
Bengals 35, Ravens 13:Baltimore is +65 in the first half of games this season… and -70 in the second half . Lamar Jackson is sorely missed.
Buccaneers 43, Panthers 13:Tampa Bay scored 43 points despite tallying just 64 passing yards. Whatever works!

Late window:The Rams got back on track with a dominant win in Las Vegas … The Lions beat the Packers on a last-second chip shot field goal … Denver's offense finally came to play against Arizona.

Rams 35, Raiders 21:With 155 TDs for the Rams and 282 for the Lions, Matthew Stafford is now the only player in NFL history to hold the passing TD record for multiple franchises.
Lions 20, Packers 17:Detroit turned in its best performance of the season, while Jared Goff added his 13th and 14th passing TDs and took care of the ball per usual (0 INTs on the year).
Broncos 30, Cardinals 16:Bo Nix's 62-yard TD run was the longest by a QB since 2022. For the first time all season, Denver won by more than one score.

Sunday Night Football:The Seahawks handed the Chiefs their first loss of the season in a 20-3 defensive masterclass as Kansas City failed to reach the red zone for the first time ever with Patrick Mahomes at QB. And just like that, the Vikings are the only undefeated team left in the NFL.

📸 Through the lens

🇺🇸 Talladega, Alabama —Kyle Larson delivered one of the most dramatic finishes of the NASCAR season on Sunday, rallying from 11th to first on the final lap to extend his lead atop the Chase standings and all but clinch his second straight title.

🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain —Real Madrid beat Barcelona, 2-1, on Sunday in the 265th edition of El Clásico , moving Los Blancos ahead in the all-time series, 107-106 (52 draws). Kylian Mbappé scored twice, giving him 100 goals in 116 matches with Madrid.

More European Soccer: Aston Villa ended Man City's perfect season … Spurs scored a rare win at Stamford Bridge … Man United fell to 16th … Inter Milan struck twice in stoppage time to stay in first.

🇨🇦 Winnipeg, Manitoba —The Canadiens beat the Jets, 2-1, in Sunday's NHL Heritage Classic as hockey fans from near and far gathered to celebrate the game in all of its outdoor glory.

🇳🇱 Rotterdam, Netherlands —Skye Blakely, 21, won four medals (gold, silver, two bronze) at the World Gymnastics Championships, a feat only four other Americans have accomplished. The Texas native could be one of the faces of Team USA heading into LA 2028.

Elite company: Blakely joins Kurt Thomas (1979), Nastia Liukin (2005), Rebecca Bross (2010) and Simone Biles (2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2023) as the only American gymnasts to earn at least four medals at a single Worlds.

🏈 Saturday rewind: Parity reigns

After another upset-filled Saturday in college football, one thing is clear: No team is safe this season.

No. 1 Miami, No. 6 Utah and No. 7 UCLA are the only undefeated FBS teams still standing after BYU, Texas Tech and JMU all stumbled this week. The last time there were three or fewer unbeaten FBS teams by Oct. 24? Way back in 1977.
BYU's shocking loss to UCF was the fifth loss by an AP Top-2 team already this season, the most such losses before November since 1990.
The 11 losses by AP Top-10 teams over the last three weeks are the most in any three-week span in AP Poll history.

Guess who's in first?Kentucky (a basketball school!) sits atop the SEC, while UCLA (another basketball school!) sits atop the Big Ten. Both teams are led by first-year head coaches, Will Stein and Bob Chesney.

Good read: Texas Tech's big money and bigger talk can't save it from embarrassing loss

🌎 Global trivia

With the NFL making its Paris debut on Sunday, the French capital became the fifth city outside the U.S. to host regular-season games in both the NFL and NBA.

Question:Can you name the other four cities?

Hint:Two North America, two Europe.

Answer at the bottom.

⚾️ Monet-ball

A Monet is officially riding on the World Series .

The stakes:If the Brewers bring home the championship, St. Petersburg's Museum of Fine Arts will loan Houses of Parliament: Effect of Fog, London (1904) to the Milwaukee Art Museum. If the Rays prevail, Milwaukee will lend its Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect (1903) to its Florida counterpart.

Trivia answer:Mexico City, Toronto, London, Berlin

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