Guardians walk off Yankees; Dodgers smush Mets; NFL, CFB weekend picks; A stunning retirement at Virginia

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⚾ Good morning to all, but especially to …

THE CLEVELAND GUARDIANS …

“Big Christmas” delivered an unforgettable gift, and it came with a side of Fry. Down 5-3 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and staring down a 3-0 series deficit, Jhonkensy Noel smashed a game-tying home run, and one inning later, David Fry walked things off with a two-run blast of his own to power the Guardians to a 7-5 Game 3 win over the Yankees.

• Noel became the first rookie in MLB playoff history to hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning or later. He was one of R.J. Anderson’s 10 potential breakout postseason breakout stars, so great call, R.J.!
• Fry then mashed the third walk-off home run in franchise playoff history, joining Tony Peña (1995) and Oscar González (2022).
• It’s the seventh time a team has had both a game-tying home run and a walk-off home run in the ninth inning or later in a playoff game.

It’s somehow even more remarkable when considering what happened just prior to those shots. Aaron Judge (game-tying two-run homer) and Giancarlo Stanton (go-ahead solo homer) went back-to-back off star closer Emmanuel Clase in the top of the eighth inning, the first time Clase has ever allowed multiple home runs in the same inning.

Overall, this marks just the second MLB playoff game with four game-tying or go-ahead home runs in the eighth inning or later. R.J. broke down each big fly, and Matt Snyder wrote on even the best relievers struggling.

… AND THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Decidedly not struggling are the Dodgers‘ stars. Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff home run and scored four runs, Mookie Betts also homered and collected four hits and four RBI as the Dodgers cruised past the Mets, 10-2, for a 3-1 NLCS lead. 

With Freddie Freeman (ankle) out, Ohtani and Betts did the heavy lifting, and Max Muncy tied the playoff record for most consecutive plate appearances reaching base, another good sign for an offense that looks dominant. The pitching was more than good enough, especially in the crucial moments: The Mets went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base.

Los Angeles is one game away from its first World Series trip since 2020.

👍 Honorable mentions

• “Unrivaled,” the three-on-three basketball league spearheaded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier is pursuing adding Caitlin Clark.
• Can Luka Doncic lead the Mavericks to another NBA Finals?
• Here’s one reason to be excited about every NBA team.
• Three teams are interested in Mike Williams.
• Here’s Matt Norlander’s Top 100 And 1 men’s college basketball teams.
• Here’s the USWNT roster for a pair of October friendlies.

😖 And not such a good morning for …

KAWHI LEONARD AND THE LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

In an offseason full of change, one thing has sadly stayed the same for the Clippers: Kawhi Leonard‘s injury struggles. He’s now out indefinitely due to knee inflammation.

The news comes a few months after Leonard withdrew from Team USA ahead of the Olympics amid uncertain circumstances.

Anyway, Leonard, 33, has played in just 229 of 390 (59%) regular-season games since joining the Clippers in 2019, and he missed the entire 2021-22 season with a torn ACL. He has played in just 28 of the Clippers’ 43 playoff games over that span, too.

Nevertheless, the Clippers gave Leonard a three-year, $153-million extension in January, during one of his rare healthy stretches. That was an awful decision, Brad Botkin writes.

• Botkin: “Suffice to say, that decision to stay in business with Leonard — a move that was ill-advised at best and downright desperate at worst — is looking exponentially worse by the minute. If you think it’s even a remote possibility that Leonard is going to somehow turn up healthy through a full postseason run, your optimism is commendable. Even enviable. But me? I stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago.”

👎 Not so honorable mentions

• Isaiah Hartenstein (hand) is out five to six weeks.
• The USMNT still has a long way to go.

🏀 Virginia national championship-winning coach Tony Bennett retires

Tony Bennett, the all-time winningest coach in Virginia history who guided the program to its only national championship in 2019, retired abruptly Thursday, 20 days before the season begins. No reason was given, and Virginia has not declared an interim coach (though we listed some potential options). Bennett will speak to the media today.

The numbers are astonishing:

• 364-136 (.728 win pct) in 15 seasons at Virginia; 69-33 (.676) in three seasons at Washington State
• 12 NCAA Tournaments, four Sweet 16s, six ACC regular-season titles, two ACC Tournament titles, one national championship
• Virginia: fewest points per game allowed since 2009-10 (Bennett’s first season)

Bennett arrived at Virginia at a bad, bad time for a once-proud program. Believe me. I grew up 30 minutes from Charlottesville. It was not good. Slowly but surely, using a slow pace, installing a dominant defense and developing under-the-radar recruits into stars, he built an absolute powerhouse. From 2013-14 to 2018-19, only Gonzaga, Villanova and Duke won more games.

Kyle Boone explored how Bennett did it by defying the norms and the odds.

Of course, the two most-remembered moments of Bennett’s time will be the 1-vs.-16 loss to UMBC in 2018 and the national title that followed a year later. You can’t discuss one without the other. But Bennett proved to be the perfect coach to lead an all-time turnaround, I wrote.

• Pereles: “He didn’t give up on himself, his players, his coaches or his system after historic losses. He reminded them that losses happen, and that wins do, too. And in the process, he delivered one of the all-time great comebacks simply by remaining true to himself. … For 15 years, Bennett held together everything Virginia had, and for one special season in particular, he and his players delivered everything Virginia needed, too.”

🏈 Broncos crush listless Saints, plus NFL Week 7 picks: Chiefs-49ers, Lions-Vikings, Texans-Packers lead slate

The Broncos demolished the Saints, 33-10, behind 225 yards on their ground, their most in a game since 2013. Javonte Williams had 111 yards total and two touchdowns, and Cody Barton brought a Spencer Rattler fumble back 52 yards for a touchdown as icing on the cake.

The Saints have now lost five straight. Derek Carr could return next week, but it’s getting late early after that 2-0 start. Thursday night’s effort was downright abysmal.

Enough of that, though, because there’s a really strong Sunday slate in the NFL, and three games stand out. Let’s start with Chiefs-49ers, a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl as well as Super Bowl LIV in 2020. The Chiefs won both. Will they win again Sunday? John Breech says …

• Breech: “If there’s one quarterback you never want to bet against when he’s an underdog, it’s Patrick Mahomes. Over the course of his career, Mahomes has been an underdog a total of 13 times and in those 13 games, the Chiefs have gone 10-3 straight up and 11-1-1 against the spread. … Also, let’s not forget that the Chiefs will be coming off a bye and there is no one more unbeatable off a bye than Andy Reid. The Chiefs coach is 21-4 in the regular season coming off a bye. The pick: Chiefs 26-23 over 49ers“

Before that, though, there’s a loaded early slate, including the Lions looking to hand the Vikings their first loss. Pete Prisco says …

• Prisco: “The Lions lost Aidan Hutchinson with a broken leg, which will impact their pass rush in a big way. Look for Sam Darnold to light it up throwing to Justin Jefferson. The Lions will get theirs as well with Jared Goff playing well. Pick: Vikings 31, Lions 26“

Also in the early slate? Texans-Packers. That’s my favorite game of the week. C.J. Stroud is awesome. Jordan Love is awesome. This game is going to be … you guessed it … awesome. (Seahawks-Falcons is under-the-radar awesome, by the way.)

Here are our expert picks/best bets:

Pete Prisco | Will Brinson | John Breech | Jordan Dajani | Tyler Sullivan

We here at the CBS Sports HQ AM newsletter are 13-3 this year. Let’s keep it going!

• Rams over Raiders
• Jets over Steelers
• Jaguars over Patriots

🏈 No. 5 Georgia-No. 1 Texas headlines loaded college football slate

Did we say NFL Sunday is loaded? College football Saturday might be doubly loaded, and No. 5 Georgia at No. 1 Texas (preview) leads the way. With the 12-team College Football Playoff, there’s a unique subplot as well, Dennis Dodd writes.

• Dodd: “When considering playoff implications, a loss for the Bulldogs wouldn’t be such a bad thing. A third-place team doesn’t have to expend energy preparing for and playing an extra contest in the conference championship game. A third-place team doesn’t have to risk getting knocked out of the CFP with a championship game loss. And a third-place team can still host a first-round game.”

Of course no one wants to lose, and Dennis astutely points out, the loser of No. 7 Alabama at No. 11 Tennessee (preview) could find itself in the same scenario. Tom Fornelli made his Crimson Tide-Volunteers pick as part of The Six Pack.

• Fornelli: “I knew [Tennessee’s] defense would be good, but the offense has been one-dimensional. Nico Iamaleava has not lived up to my expectations, and the offensive line has been sub-par. But I also get the sense this Volunteers offense isn’t far from firing on all cylinders and having a big day. I wonder if it could be this week. The Pick: Tennessee +3“

John Talty and Alex Scarborough have the oral history of the 2022 epic between these two, and it’s a must-read.

As for everything else …

• Previews: No. 2 Oregon at Purdue | No. 6 Miami at Louisville | No. 8 LSU at Arkansas | No. 24 Michigan at No. 22 Illinois
• Second-half storylines
• Here comes Iowa State.
• Get to know Kurtis Rourke‘s remarkable story.
• Will Ashton Jeanty catch Barry Sanders?

📺 What we’re watching this weekend

Friday

⚾ NLCS Game 5: Dodgers at Mets, 5:08 p.m. on FS1
🏈 Florida State at Duke, 7 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 WNBA Finals Game 4: Liberty at Lynx, 8 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 No. 2 Oregon at Purdue, 8 p.m. on Fox
⚾ ALCS Game 4: Yankees at Guardians, 8:08 p.m. on TBS/truTV
🏈 Oklahoma State at No. 13 BYU, 10:15 p.m. on ESPN

Saturday

🏈 No. 6 Miami at Louisville, noon on ABC
🏈 Virginia at No. 10 Clemson, noon on ACC Network
🏈 Nebraska at No. 16 Indiana, noon on Fox
🏈 No. 7 Alabama at No. 11 Tennessee, 3:30 p.m. on ABC
🏈 No. 12 Notre Dame at Wake Forest, 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 No. 24 Michigan at No. 22 Illinois, 3:30 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
🏈 Charlotte at No. 25 Navy, 3:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏈 Colorado at Arizona, 4 p.m. on Fox
🏈 No. 8 LSU at Arkansas, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 No. 5 Georgia at No. 1 Texas, 7:30 p.m. on ABC
🏈 UCF at No. 9 Iowa State, 7:30 p.m. on FS1
⚾ ALCS Game 5: Yankees at Guardians, 8:08 p.m. on TBS/truTV

Sunday

🏈 Patriots vs. Jaguars, 9:30 a.m. on NFL Network
🏈 Texans at Packers, 1 p.m. on CBS
🏈 Titans at Bills, 1 p.m. on CBS
🏈 Lions at Vikings, 1 p.m. on Fox
🏈 Seahawks at Falcons, 1 p.m. on Fox
🏈 Eagles at Giants, 1 p.m. on Fox
🏈 Chiefs at 49ers, 4:25 p.m. on Fox
🏀 WNBA Finals Game 5 (if necessary): Lynx at Liberty, 8 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ NLCS Game 6 (if necessary): Mets at Dodgers, 8:08 p.m. on FS1
🏈 Jets at Steelers, 8:20 p.m. on NBC