Dodgers win World Series with historic rally; Breaking down Yankees' meltdown; QB Power Rankings

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🏆 Good morning to all, but especially to ...

THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS

It's hard to talk about a team with three MVPs, the most wins this season and a gigantic payroll as underdogs. So maybe the Dodgers weren't underdogs. But they certainly overcame plenty -- including an unprecedented deficit in their final game.

The Dodgers are World Series champions after a breathtaking 7-6 comeback win over the Yankees in Game 5. Los Angeles trailed 5-0 through four innings, marking the largest deficit overcome in a World Series clincher.

They got it done thanks to superstars and unlikely contributors and a team-wide doggedness that came to define them throughout the regular season, the postseason and, fittingly, their final game.

Entering the fifth inning, it felt like the Dodgers were destined for a nervous trip back to Los Angeles. The champs were not only down 5-0, but their starter (Jack Flaherty) had gone just 1⅓ innings, the bullpen was already being stretched, they were 0 for their last 27 batting going back to Game 4 -- an entire game's worth of being no-hit -- and Gerrit Cole was dealing.
But they kept battling, because that's what they do. Thanks to a bevy of Yankees mistakes (more on that in a bit), the Dodgers loaded the bases down 5-1 before World Series MVP Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández delivered back-to-back two-out, two-RBI hits. It was 5-5, with all five Los Angeles runs unearned.
The Yankees took the lead back, 6-5, but the Dodgers would not be denied. They loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth inning before Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts produced RBI sacrifices.
Blake Treinen delivered a magnificent 2⅓ innings -- his longest outing since 2018 -- and Walker Buehler shut the door just two days after a terrific Game 3 start. It's his first career save and a major addition to an impressive resume, R.J. Anderson writes.

Yes, this title is about Freeman, Betts, Hernández, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Dodgers never lacked for star power. But it's also about Buehler, who struggled all season after returning from Tommy John and barely made the playoff roster. It's about Tommy Edman, the midseason acquisition who won NLCS MVP and was instrumental all postseason. It's about a team that carried three starting pitchers and relied on bullpen games all the way through, a team that lost seven starting starting pitchers and had Freeman and Ohtani playing through significant injuries. They needed absolutely everyone.

Maybe you discounted the Dodgers' 2020 COVID-season title and, until Wednesday, focused on the playoff shortcomings. Now, though, they've emphatically flipped the narrative, Matt Snyder writes.

Snyder: "Amid the hugging family members and screaming with delight and tears of joy, the Dodgers got a monkey off their back Wednesday night. It wasn't easy, to the point that a team with a ton of starting pitching depth ended up having to piece together bullpen games in the playoffs, but they had done it. ... The nonsensical focus on payroll totally ignores how many under-the-radar moves the Dodgers needed here and how many injuries they overcame. Through it all, they changed the narrative that they can't win a title that counts."

I'm always loath to look to "what's next?" Revel in glory, Dodgers fans. Titles deserve to be cherished for days, for weeks, for months, for years, for lifetimes. Nothing is guaranteed. But for as much as the Dodgers have built a dynasty already, don't be surprised if they take it to another level.

Here's more:

Dodgers World Series parade details
It's the Dodgers' eighth World Series title, only behind the Yankees, Cardinals, Athletics and Red Sox.
Daniel Hudson retired on top, moments after the game ended.
Offseason key dates

👍 Honorable mentions

Bronny James scored his first career points.
Patrick Mahomes hopes to bring a WNBA team to Kansas City.
In Cowboys land, Trevon Diggs and the reporter he confronted made up, and DaRon Bland was activated off injured reserve.
Bryce Young will start again, and Jonathon Brooks is nearing his NFL debut.
Evan Mobley is making "the jump."
Ryan Dunn is a standout in Jasmyn Wimbish's rookie first impressions.
USMNT standouts Weston McKennie and Tim Weah both scored for Juventus.
Here are the nine contributor semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025
Both starting quarterbacks are expected to play in No. 20 SMU vs. No. 18 Pittsburgh.
Kurtis Rourke is on track to return this weekend.
The USWNT cruised past Argentina, 3-0, led by a Naomi Girma brace.
The Jets are atop Austin Nivison's NHL Power Rankings.
The Women's Pro Baseball League plans to launch in 2026.

💔 And not such a good morning for ...

THE NEW YORK YANKEES

Up 5-0. Ace pitcher rolling. Yankee Stadium rocking. The Yankees had everything working.

And then everything fell apart. The Yankees had a stunningly long list of miscues, including the following in a disastrous fifth inning alone:

Aaron Judge dropping a routine fly ball, followed by ...
Anthony Volpe's throwing error loading the bases, followed three batters later by ...
Gerrit Cole simply neglecting to cover first base, resulting in a Betts infield single, followed by ...
the back-to-back two-RBI hits from Freeman and Hernández.

Still, the Yankees took the lead again in the sixth before surrendering two runs in the eighth, an inning that included a catcher's interference. It was one mistake too many. And so the Yankees' season ends with a thud, five innings after it seemed filled with possibilities of becoming the first team ever to overcome a 3-0 World Series deficit.

Mike Axisa writes of Judge's legacy taking a hit, with no guarantee he'll get a shot at redemption.

Axisa: "He went 4 for 18 (.222) in the five games against the Dodgers and slashed .184/.344/.408 in 14 postseason games. ... Judge is pushing the limits of the idea that, given enough time, players will revert to their career norms in the postseason. He keeps getting worse in October. ... Since 2020 though, Judge is a .147/.250/.336 hitter in 31 postseason games. It's almost like things have snowballed on Judge. Like he experienced postseason failure, tried even harder to perform for his team, and made things worse."

There's a lot to think about this offseason beyond the missed opportunities, the so-close-yet-so-far. Will Juan Soto be back? (He addressed that.) Will Aaron Boone be back? (He addressed that.) Suffice to say, the Bronx Bombers have a huge offseason ahead.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

The Yankees fans who tried to steal a ball from Betts were banned from Game 5. They're also Rob Gronkowski's college friends. Small world!
Here's how Anthony Richardson reacted to being benched.
Scottie Barnes' right orbital fracture means the Raptors should get a head start on tanking, Brad Botkin says.
Welcome to Brad's NBA Hater Report.
Texas Tech asked the Big 12 for a report on a flaw in college football's new helmet communications system.
The Florida-Georgia rivalry game will move from Jacksonville in 2026 and 2027 as EverBank Stadium undergoes renovations.
Connor McDavid (ankle) will miss multiple weeks.

🏈 NFL, College Football QB Power Rankings

We're two full months into the NFL and college football seasons, and while there's plenty of time for change, we have a pretty good picture of where teams and teams' most important positions -- quarterback -- stand.

In the NFL, Lamar Jackson has a strong hold on the top spot of Cody Benjamin's QB Power Rankings, with familiar names behind him.

Lamar Jackson (previous: 1)
Josh Allen (3)
Jared Goff (5)
Jayden Daniels
Joe Burrow (2)

Jackson, Allen and Goff are among the MVP favorites, and deservedly so. But out of the spotlight, let's give some love to Justin Herbert, who jumped from 12th to eight in Cody's rankings.

Benjamin: "Don't look now, but Herbert might be rediscovering his Pro Bowl form. Barely called upon to open his first year under Jim Harbaugh, his second-level accuracy has been a highlight of late."

This season, Herbert ranks ...

Second in interception rate
Eighth in touchdown-to-interception rate and off-target rate
Ninth in yards per scramble
10th in passer rating

And his leading receivers -- with all due respect -- are Ladd McConkey, Josh Palmer and Will Dissly. Also joining the top 10 is Jalen Hurts (11th to ninth), and I think that's well-deserved, too.

Matthew Stafford (21st to 15th) made the biggest jump, while Geno Smith (15th to 22nd) had the biggest drop.

Switching over to Tom Fornelli's College Football QB Rankings, there's a new No. 1.

Dillon Gabriel (previous: 2)
Cam Ward (1)
Cade Klubnik (4)
Shedeur Sanders (Not Ranked)
Bryson Daily (5)

🏀 United States of Basketball: Best men's basketball team in every state

Everyone -- well, most everyone -- knows what a map of the United States of America looks like. It's been pretty much the same since 1959, when Hawaii joined. But the United States of Basketball? Well, that changes every year. Matt Norlander is back determining the best Division I men's basketball team in every state (sorry, Alaska) plus Washington, D.C.

Let's start in North Carolina, where two shades of blue have run the state for decades, but the red of NC State actually had the best result last season, a Cinderella run to the Final Four. So who earns the top spot? Matt says ...

Norlander: "Duke beats out North Carolina on the strength of its top-ranked freshman class, headlined by one of the most lauded incoming freshmen of the past 15 years to the sport: Cooper Flagg. ... North Carolina is a close No. 2 — the Tar Heels have First Team All-American RJ Davis back, plus a couple of dazzling freshmen waiting for their unsheathing — followed by Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are one of my chic picks to be among the 15-20 best teams in the country."

There are tight battles in Texas, California, Mississippi and more, so be sure to check out Matt's 50 nifty selections.

Zooming out from best in state to best in the nation, Isaac Trotter tiered the 20 teams with legit national title hopes.

📺 What we're watching Thursday

🏈 Tulane at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Bucks at Grizzlies, 8 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 Texans at Jets, 8:15 p.m. on Prime Video
🏀 Suns at Clippers, 10:30 p.m. on NBA TV