This weekend was absolutely INSANE for college football nation. We had upsets with #8 Notre Dame losing to the unranked team Marshall (yup that’s an actual school, not a dude’s name) and #6 Texas A&M losing to unranked Appalachian State. We had near upsets with #1 Alabama just barely escaping defeat at the hands of the Texas Longhorns through a last minute field goal. We had injuries, with Texas’ newbie star quarterback Quinn Ewers fracturing his collar bone, now sidelined for ~1.5 months. And we even had FIRINGS with Nebraska buying out head couch Scott Frost for $15M after a horrific start to their season (and horrific overall 4 year career for Frost, having amassed 16 dubs and 31 losses). This is the drama I NEEEEEEED.

Can I have your number?

1: ATP World Ranking spot now held by Carlos Alcaraz Garfia after winning the US Open title last night.

TLDRs

🎾 The new #1s on the block (as of last night), Iga Świątek and Carlos Alcaraz Garfia, won the US Open titles for women’s and men’s singles, respectively, both making history for their countries and bringing home $2.6mil 1st place prizes. Read on for more.

⛳️ Shane Lowry won the BMW PGA Championship. He finished 17-under for the weekend, just one stroke ahead of Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, who tied for second. The tournament (which took place at Wentworth Club in England) was shortened to 54 holes after news of the Queen’s death.

🏁 F1 is starting to get as predictable as a rom-com; you turn it on for entertainment, already knowing the ending: the couple ends up together after a massive fight and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) wins his given race. That race this weekend was the Italian Grand Prix; tough luck for Ferrari given it’s their home racetrack. Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished in #2 and #4 respectively, but in the words of Ricky Bobby, if you ain’t first, you’re last.

⚾ The Seattle Mariners managed to hold onto their wild card spot in the AL with a rallying defeat of the Atlanta Braves, 8-7. Young star Julio Rodriguez hit two home runs and Eugenio Suarez smashed a walk-off home run to seal the deal.

🏈 Our first full weekend of NFL football did NOT disappoint. The most notable takeaways: Justin Fields (Chicago Bears QB) went full slip ‘n slide mode after defeating the SF 49ers, the NY Giants bested the reigning AFC South champions (Tennessee Titans) in a game that came down to a missed field goal, and Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals) gave up five interceptions in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Oh and Cowboy fans are already mourning the season after QB Dak Prescott was injured with a fracture that will bench him for several weeks.

Tennis

Iga Świątek (21 y/o) welcomes Carlos Alcarez Garfia (19 y/o) to the throne (DONE)

• On Saturday, World #1 Iga Świątek of Poland defeated World #5 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia (6-2, 7-6) to win the US Open title for Women’s Singles. Even going into the match, Jabeur knew what was coming. “Iga never loses finals, so it's going to be very tough”. All the deets you need about this year’s champ: Winner’s words: "It's challenging. New York is loud, it's so crazy. There are so many temptations in the city, so many people I've met who are inspiring, I'm so proud of how I've handled it mentally”.Świątek ascended to the World #1 spot in April 2022 after defeating Naomi Osaka in the Miami Open final and has held the spot ever since. After this win, she has asserted herself as the one to beat in women’s tennis.She has now won her third grand slam title, also becoming the first Polish woman in history to become a U.S. Open champion.

• Yesterday, World #3 Carlos Alcaraz Garfia of Spain defeated World #5 Casper Ruud of Norway (4-6, 6-2, 6-7, 3-6) to win the US Open title for Men’s Singles. All the deets you need about this year’s champ: Winner’s words: “This is something I dreamt of since I was a kid… To be No. 1 in the world, to be winner of a Grand Slam, it’s tough to talk right now. It’s something that I tried to achieve. All the hard work that I did with my family… I’m just 19 years old, this is something that is really, really special to me”.Nineteen y/o Alcarez became the youngest World No. 1 in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history since 1973 after winning yesterday, and this is his first Grand Slam title, too.He is the first teenage world #1 and the 4th man from Spain to reach #1, joining his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moya, and Rafael Nadal.Alcaraz (19) and Ruud (23) are the second-youngest Top 2 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, only trailing world #1 Jimmy Connors (22) and world #22 Bjorn Borg (18) in 1975.

Must Watch This Week

Monday, September 12th

• ⚾ 7:00pm ET, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Toronto Blue Jays

• 🏈 8:15pm ET, Denver Broncos vs. Seattle Seahawks

Tuesday, September 13th

• ⚾ 7:00pm ET, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Toronto Blue Jays

• ⚾ 9:00pm ET, San Diego Padres vs. Seattle Mariners

Time Out for the Tea

Gisele Bündchen skips out on Brady’s first game

• A few days ago, a source told People that "it's always a big thing when Gisele [Bündchen, Tom Brady’s wife] is coming to watch the game, with extra security and snacks for the family, but as of right now, there's none of that for Sunday's game”. It was confirmed that Giselle was not in attendance at Brady’s first game of the season, but Giselle still assured the public that everything is hunky-dory in their marriage, tweeting “Let’s go @TomBrady ! Let’s go Bucs !”. The same source told PEOPLE that “everyone here knows that there's tension, but we don't know how serious it is. So we're just not talking to him about Gisele. It's not a topic anyone wants to bring up to him." Not fooling anyone, Gisele…

Mommy issues are real

• Everybody loves talking daddy issues, but what about mommy issues? Luka Doncic (NBA Dallas Mavericks star) ****seems to have plenty of his own. The famous “Luka Doncic 7” trademark is controlled by his mother, Mirjam Poterbin, and Doncic has decided to file legal action against her as “she refuses to give him the rights as he wishes”. Doncic has reportedly “filed a petition with the US Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the registration of the trademark”. Doncic says, "I have a lot to look forward to as I continue to grow as a player and a person and it’s important to me to control my own brand and focus on giving back to my communities”.

Beef in the tennis world

• Australia’s Margaret Court, 80 y/o former tennis player who holds 24 grand slam titles, told Britain's Daily Telegraph how she admires Serena Williams, but how she doesn’t think Williams really ever admired her. What the heck does that mean? That she’s a kook! ESPN reports that “Court said she has become a persona non grata in the tennis world because of her Christian beliefs”. Court is opposed to same sex marriage and even shamed Williams for not winning a Slam after having a baby — Court herself won 3 Slams after having kids. "We didn't have psychologists or coaches with us. It's a whole different world. That's what disappoints me -- that players today don't honor the past of the game,” says Court.

Doomed from the start

• ARod is back on the market! And guess what? Literally nobody is surprised. Alex Rodriguez and (now ex-) girlfriend Kathryne Padgett have broken things off, after first being seen together in January. Who knows, maybe he’ll try shooting his shot with now-married JLo again.