Sabrina Ionescu's 28-footer lifts Liberty in WNBA Finals; Dodgers hammer Mets to take NLCS lead

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🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to …

SABRINA IONESCU, BREANNA STEWART AND THE NEW YORK LIBERTY

It’s one of the greatest shots you’ll ever see, regardless of setting or stakes. But that it came in this setting with these stakes makes it even more legendary.

Sabrina Ionescu nailed a game-winning 3-pointer from just inside the halfcourt logo with one second left, propelling the Liberty to a 80-77 WNBA Finals Game 3 win and a 2-1 series lead over the Lynx.

It’s a borderline miracle the Liberty were even in position for Ionescu’s heroics. The Lynx led by 15 points early and were smothering New York’s high-powered attack. But the Liberty slowly chipped away thanks to an all-time Finals performance from Breanna Stewart (30 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks) that will be overshadowed but shouldn’t be, and Ionescu finally joined the party late.

• She had an excellent assist to Jonquel Jones with 1:31 left that gave the Liberty their first lead since the first quarter.
• She buried a 3-pointer with 55.1 seconds left to stretch the lead to four.
• After four straight Minnesota points, Ionescu entered WNBA lore in unforgettable fashion. She scored seven points in the game’s first 38 minutes and then scored six in the final two.

Ionescu’s game-winner was one for the ages. In fact, our Jack Maloney has it as one of the biggest shots in WNBA Finals history. And, as you might have expected, the 28-foot sent a shockwave across the Internet.

For some more fun stats …

• The 15-point comeback is the third-largest in WNBA Finals history. 
• This was the Liberty’s first WNBA Finals road win since 1999.
• Stewart produced the second 30-point, 10-rebound, four-block game in WNBA Finals history. She also has the other one, from 2020.
• Stewart moved up to fourth on the all-time Finals scoring list.

What an all-time game, and what an all-time win for the Liberty. They’ll go for their first title tomorrow night.

👍 Honorable mentions

👎 Not so honorable mentions

⚾ Dodgers hammer Mets, take 2-1 NLCS lead

Playoff Kiké. You cannot stop it. You cannot even contain it. Kiké Hernández mashed a massive two-run home run in the sixth inning, and the Dodgers piled on from there in an 8-0 win over the Mets that gives Los Angeles a 2-1 NLCS lead.

The Dodgers led 2-0 when Hernández doubled the lead, and the numbers behind his playoff prowess are incredible:

• Hernández has hit one home run per every 13.33 postseason at-bats, the fifth-best rate in MLB playoff history (min. 50 games). For reference, his regular-season rate is one home run per every 29.06 at-bats.
• Hernández is one of 20 players with at least 15 playoff home runs. Of those 20, only Babe Ruth and Nelson Cruz have a better home-run-per-plate-appearance rate.

Yes, this is Kiké Hernández we’re talking about, a zero-time All Star who has played on four teams since entering MLB in 2014 and played every non-catching position (and even pitched) this season. He’s the Dodgers’ No. 9 hitter! But, as Mike Axisa writes, “He’s one of the greatest postseason power hitters ever, truly.”

The floodgates opened after that, and for the Dodgers, that included two incredibly encouraging signs. Shohei Ohtani blasted a three-run home run in the eighth inning, his first dinger since Game 1 of the NLDS. He’s now 7 for 9 in his postseason career with players on base and 0 for 22 without. Truly wild. Max Muncy followed with a solo moonshot in the ninth, and he has now reached base on eight consecutive playoff appearances.

Batting is only half of the puzzle, and for the other half, Walker Buehler was excellent, pitching four shutout innings and, crucially, escaping a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the second inning. He generated a career high-tying 18 swings and misses. This was the Dodgers’ fourth shutout — tying an NL single-postseason record — and they’ve all come in their last five games.

🏈 Second-chance college football championship predictions

It’s been an incredible start to the college football season, and the second half of the regular season promises even more excitement, starting this weekend. (We’ll explore that tomorrow.)

We’ve already seen three preseason top-10 teams — Ole Miss, Michigan and Florida State — suffer multiple losses, and teams like Georgia and Alabama are on unsteady ground already. In past years, they’d have no room for error to make the College Football Playoff. But with the expanded field, many teams will get second (and maybe even third) chances.

We like that. We also like giving our experts second chances. So, without further ado, we present our second-chance expert picks for the College Football Playoff, champion, Heisman and Coach of the Year.

Here are some takeaways:

• Current No. 1 Texas is the most popular pick to earn the No. 1 seed (five of eight picks). Oregon (two) and Ohio State (one) also got nods.
• The SEC champion and the Big Ten champion figure to be the top two seeds in some order. Miami is the most popular pick for the No. 3 seed as the ACC champion, and Iowa State is the most popular No. 4 seed out of the Big 12.
• As for pleasant surprises, BYU makes four of our experts’ fields, and Richard Johnson has Indiana in his projected 12. Trending the wrong way, Tennessee is in just two projected fields.

Every single expert has Boise State as their Group of Five playoff team, and Ashton Jeanty is the most popular pick for Heisman frontrunner. Chip Patterson explains his pick.

• Patterson: “College football is a nostalgic sport and many Heisman Trophy voters understand their role in preserving its history with their votes. If Jeanty breaks Barry Sanders‘ regular season rushing record — and that’s currently the pace that he’s flirting with at 208 yards per game — then voters are not going to shy away. … To ignore Jeanty’s run at a record that has stood 36 years would be a disservice.”

I won’t spoil champion picks, but our eight experts are spread across three different teams.

🏀 CBS Sports Preseason Freshman of the Year, freshman All-America team

It’s the worst-kept secret in America. Cooper Flagg is the CBS Sports Preseason Freshman of the Year. It was unanimous. We aren’t the first publication to make that pick, and we won’t be the last. I mean, the 17-year-old was playing — and making highlights — against Team USA this summer. Per our scouting report, Flagg “can shoot, get to the rim, defend, facilitate and block shots” and “possesses a killer-like instinct that will allow him to thrive in a high-pressure environment at Duke.” Seems good to me!

But this class is absolutely loaded. And while Flagg practiced with an Olympic team, another preseason freshman All-America pick, Baylor‘s VJ Edgecombe, played on one. Isaac Trotter has the insight:

• Trotter: “Edgecombe seemingly plays with an almost insatiable desire to embarrass whoever has the audacity to jump with him at the rim. The 6-foot-5 guard owns an electric first step, and he is a threat to score from every single level. Five-star freshmen exceed expectations at Baylor year after year, and this five-out roster construction should give Edgecombe all he needs to dominate.

📺 What we’re watching Thursday

⚾ ALCS Game 3: Yankees at Guardians, 5:08 p.m. on TBS/truTV
🏈 Boston College at Virginia Tech, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ NLCS Game 4: Dodgers at Mets, 8:08 p.m. on FS1
🏈 Broncos at Saints, 8:15 p.m. on Prime Video