Aces and Astros on the edge, plus Davante Adams' trade request

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Good morning! Please dont request a trade from us today.

Before we start the postseason bonanza, lets take a moment to appreciate this time of year.

The NFL and college football are in full swing.

Baseballs playoffs just began.

The WNBA postseason is cooking.

We have fresh NBA and NHL things to talk about.

Its a beautiful thing.

Back to the bonanza, because thats what yesterday felt like.

Lets give out some superlatives for playoff teams: Most Stressed: Las Vegas Aces , Houston Astros The defending-champion Aces are one defeat away from elimination after an 88-84 loss to New York last night, which is shocking on its face, yet unsurprising if youve watched Vegas this season.

They are uber-talented and clearly one of the best three teams in the WNBA, but have largely failed to recapture their it factor from last season.

Meanwhile, the Astros who have made seven straight ALCS appearances are also one loss away from going home after falling in a nervy 3-1 affair to the upstart Tigers yesterday.

Tarik Skubal was incredible , and Houston has also struggled to uphold its normal standard of play this year despite winning the AL West.

Most Likely to Succeed: Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Lynx Kansas City has the juice, after a 1-0 win in Baltimore yesterday, led by starter Cole Ragans and star Bobby Witt Jr.

I almost put the Orioles in the previous section, but I dont even know if stress applies to whatever playoff-choke hex is going on here.

Baltimore is one loss away from going 0-fer in the postseason the last two years (while averaging 96 regular-season wins a year).

Woof.

In Minneapolis, the Lynx wrestled back control of their semifinal series with the Sun after a 77-70 win.

Napheesa Collier only had nine points.

If they can win with that, I think they run away with this series.

Best Home Run Swagger: Fernando Tatis Jr.

Tatis sent a ball to outer space early in San Diegos 4-0 win against the Braves yesterday, which felt like a full-circle moment for the one-time superstar who lost his away amid a steroid scandal.

I think he found some mojo again: WELCOME TO THE ELECTRIC FACTORY Fernando Tatis Jr.

gets the @Padres #Postseason started with a bang! pic.twitter.com/4mfkGTnW9G MLB (@MLB) October 2, 2024 Chris Sale wont be saving Atlanta , either.

Most Impressive Hangover: New York Mets I dont know if anyone was actually hungover, but an 8-4 road win against a good Brewers team mere hours after a beer-soaked celebration in Atlanta is moving nonetheless.

We have another stacked MLB day today (more on that in a bit), while the WNBA is off until Friday.

Moving on: Davante Adams wants out After months of speculation, we are finally here: Raiders star wide receiver Davante Adams requested a trade Monday, The Athletic confirmed, giving Las Vegas a month before the trade deadline to find a deal.

Itll take at least a second-round pick and extra compensation for any team to land him.

See our full report here .

The market should be robust expect the Chiefs, Ravens, Jets and Saints to be first in line.

Advertisement College football super league inches forward Yesterday, a group of college-sports bigwigs unveiled their initial College Student Football League plan, calling for a radical reorganization of the hierarchy in college football and only college football.

Under the plan, football would separate from other university sports, and a massive Power 12 conference would emerge with 72 teams.

Two things to take away: This is nowhere near completion, but the power players involved suggest some of its ideas could become real at some point.

More details here .

More news Two weeks ago, UNLV football was simply a nice story.

A program once minted as a cellar dweller was showing legitimate signs of life.

Polite round of applause from the crowd.

Then last week, the quarterback quit, all over a supposed $100,000 NIL offer that appears more confusing by the hour.

The Rebels responded with the best win so far in their 4-0 season, reaching footballs AP Top 25 for the first time ever.

More on a wild week, quickly: Read Brians full story here .

And lets maybe tune in to more UNLV games this year.

MLB : Tigers at Astros 2:30 p.m.

ET on ABC Houston on edge? Detroit possibly cementing itself as a title contender? Yes, please.

MLB: Royals at Orioles 4:30 p.m.

ET on ESPN These are two of the leagues best teams, who almost flew under the radar this year for differing reasons.

One of them, Baltimore, could have its season end tonight.

See the full MLB slate .

Stream games like these here and get tickets here .

The Athletic Football Show had Dane Brugler on to talk about some of the most impressive college performances of the season.

Listen here .

Try todays Connections: Sports Edition beta .

One mistake for me today.

Make time for this incredibly affecting story about Karl-Anthony Towns , and the promise he had to keep just before leaving Minnesota .

At Lakers camp, players have been quietly impressed with how first-time coach JJ Redick is conducting the offseason .

Arthur Staple has one emo song for each NHL teams year here .

You know the season is almost here now.

The second annual NFL anonymous player poll is here , with unfiltered answers on the next MVP, favorite road trip, best stadium and, of course, Taylor Swift.

Well have more on this tomorrow.

Our latest Heisman straw poll is out with Travis Hunter in the pole position.

Vegas has a different candidate in mind .

Matthew Futterman has an insightful explainer on WADAs appeal of a ruling in Jannik Sinners doping case.

The intrigue deepens .

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday : Tyler Kepners obituary of Pete Rose .

Most-read on the website yesterday : NFL Week 5 Power Rankings .

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(Top photo: Elsa / Getty Images).

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