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Good morning! I tried the Chicken Mac yesterday. Just okay.

A winner of a walk-off game, no matter the circumstances, is intoxicating. Does it put multiple games in the WNBA Finals? It’s hard not to love and/or respect it, even if you’re a Minnesota Lynx fan.

Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu did all that last night in New York’s crazy 80-77 win over the Lynx. Take a look:

SABRINA IONESCU. ICE IN HER VEINS.@nyliberty | #WNBAFinales pic.twitter.com/jk6S70XW9H

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) October 17, 2024

Imagine doing that on the road. Sheesh. New York now leads 2-1 in the finaljust one win away from a ring.

Don’t know what to do with the Dodgers.

We’re less than a week away from one of the most exciting NBA seasons in recent memory, storyline-wise, just as the WNBA season is coming to a close.

There has been talk of equality in the NBA lately, something we haven’t been able to say very often in the past four decades. In the offseason, superstars like Karl-Anthony Towns and Paul George switched teams. And somehow no one seems to be talking about the defending champion Celtics, who completed one of the most impressive title runs in modern history last year.

To help us prepare, I made sure Zach Harper was nice to me:

It just feels like we have to start with the Knicks. On paper, this is an excellent team, right? Yet despite the KAT tradethe atmosphere is off. What can we expect from them this year?

I think the atmosphere is pretty good, except that Mitchell Robinson has gone down on social media. I have high hopes for the Knicks! The home defense will be questionable, but they have so many potential attacking options. That’s what you need to win the East, and I think they can do that. I won’t single them out because I’m a coward, but it doesn’t take much mental gymnastics to see it. They would have to win 55 games and reach the conference finals.

I just have no idea what the Western Conference hierarchy should look like. Who are your top four?

I would rather risk my life solving the most difficult scientific theories than try to guess how the West will develop. Why doesn’t Neil deGrasse Tyson do that instead of explaining black holes for the 100th time on TikTok? Are you that smart? Tell me where everyone’s going in the West, Neil! Wait, what are we doing? My top four in the West? I have the Thunder first, then the Mavs, Suns and Wolves. I also fully expect Nikola Jokić to make this look stupid.

Last question. You picked Ben Simmons as your Most Improved Player. Just…why?

I did it last season. It wasn’t even my worst prediction. Jordan Poole, WHO WAS PUT ON THE BENCH BY THE WIZARDS, was my choice as scoring leader. I don’t know why I do this to myself or Ben. I’m kind of caught up in it, except at this point it feels like a “Saw” movie. But if he wins in the end… I’ll look like a genius. An insane genius, but a genius nonetheless.

Make sure you sign up for Zach’s newsletter, The bouncebefore the season turns. We’ll get back to Simmons later, I guess?

Clark’s latest achievement

Fever guard Caitlin Clark was named to the All-WNBA First Team yesterday, the league announced, becoming the first rookie to do so since Candace Parker earned the honor in 2008. It’s just another notch on her metaphorical title. View the full first team here.

England hires Tuchel

In a stunner, the England men’s national team makes Thomas Tuchel, formerly of Chelsea and Bayern Munich, his manager from next year. Tuchel’s addition comes as a surprise to most, especially as no leaks emerged prior to the announcement. Oliver Kay has a complete overview of the rental price — and why there is no guarantee that Tuchel will win. Tuchel too Sorry he has a German passport.

More news

We linked this story yesterday about the messy launch of NWSL’s new Boston franchise, but the response over the past two days has been, well, staggering. A quick summary, starting with a terrible tagline:

Meg Linehan, a self-proclaimed “Masshole” and perhaps the greatest NWSL expert in the world, in a scorching column yesterday called it “the worst NWSL launch I have ever seen in the history of the league.” Read that here.

Phew. To proceed:

📺 MLB: Yankees at Guardians