Brave New World, Same Old Story 

September 14, 2023

By: Carlos Alvarez

Good Morning 

The Braves clinched the NL East for the millionth time, and they popped champagne on the diamond where they’re hated the most. Plus, we celebrate the tip-off to the WNBA postseason with a pair of poetic blowouts and a feature on the rise of women’s sports.

Letter Rip!

MLB

Brave New World, Same Old Story

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Photo: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images

Atlanta Braves Clinch 6th Straight NL East Title On the Field Where Last Season Ended…


Death, taxes, and the Braves winning the NL East. These things you can count on. Wednesday night was payback, of sorts. The Atlanta Braves, with the playoffs already in hand, had the chance to clinch the division for the sixth straight season. And on the field of the rival Philadelphia Phillies; the same team who knocked them out of the playoffs last October. Atlanta did just that, securing a 4-1 win behind their star players. Ronald Acuna Jr. (3-for-5), Austin Riley (2-for-4, 1 HR, 3 RBIs) and ace Spencer Strider (7IP, 9Ks, 4 Hits, 1 ER) were dominant once again. But this division-clinching night had two stories in tandem — dominance on one side and fueled fury on the other.

Divisional Dominance

The Braves’ divisional dominance has been unmatched over the past 30 years. No other team has strung together more than six straight divisional crowns, and the Braves have done it twice. Atlanta holds the MLB record for consecutive division titles in a row (14: 1991-2005). They now hold 23 NL East titles, including 20 in the last 32 seasons.

Most Division Titles in MLB History

Atlanta Braves (23)

Los Angeles Dodgers (20)

New York Yankees (20)

Oakland Athletics (17)

St. Louis Cardinals (15)

Philly Fuel

The fact that this celebration came in Philadelphia — complete with champagne on the field and Braves players flipping the bird to screaming Phillies fans — is remarkable. The last two World Series have featured the Houston Astros from the AL, but the NL representative was either the Braves (2021 World Series champs) or the Phillies (2022 World Series runner-up). Atlanta celebrated on this night, but they might’ve just fueled their rivals for another epic playoff battle a month from now.

Watch: Braves Beat Phillies (4-1) to Win 6th Straight NL East Title

MLB Quick-Hitters

Missing Mad Max: The Rangers took a devastating blow on Wednesday when they found out newly-acquired ace Max Scherzer would miss the rest of the regular season (and likely the playoffs) with a shoulder injury. The Rangers still won their fifth straight, but without Scherzer or Jacob deGrom, Texas could be in trouble.

Astros’ No-No Broken in 9th: The Astros flirted with a combined no-hitter in Wednesday’s 6-2 win over the A’s, but it was broken up with one out gone in the 9th inning. Hunter Brown pitched five scoreless frames before three members of the bullpen were out-free in the 6th, 7th and 8th. Houston still holds the slight edge in the AL West.

Giant-Saving Walk-Off: The Giants pulled off a late-inning rally against the Guardians that was something special. San Francisco got a three-run jack from J.D. Davis to tie the game in the 8th inning (5-5) before LaMonte Wade Jr.’s walk-off sac-fly (6-5). The Giants are just 0.5 games back of the final wild card spot.

MLB Wild Card Races

American League

DIV: Orioles (91-54), Astros (83-64), Twins (76-70)

Wild Card Race

WC1: Rays (90-57)

WC2: Rangers (81-64)

WC3: Mariners (81-65)

OUT: Blue Jays (80-66)

OUT: Red Sox (73-72)

OUT: Yankees (73-72)

National League

DIV: Braves (96-50), Dodgers (88-57), Brewers (81-64)

Wild Card Race

WC1: Phillies (79-67)

WC2: Cubs (78-69)

WC3: Reds (76-71)

OUT: Diamondbacks (76-71)

OUT: Marlins (75-71)

OUT: Giants (75-71)

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WNBA

Playoff Blowouts

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Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Aces & Sun Make Early Statements With 30-Point Blowouts to Tip Off WNBA Playoffs

Message, received. The WNBA Playoffs are underway as of last night, and two teams wasted no team making Game 1 statements on their playoff readiness. The Connecticut Sun laid the hammer on the Minnesota Lynx thanks to DeWanna Bonner’s 17-15-6 performance. The Sun shot better than 50 percent from deep (16-for-30) in an absolute sharp-shooting display. In the nightcap, the loaded Las Vegas Aces — who set the WNBA regular season record for wins (34) — blew past the Chicago Sky with five scorers in double figures.

In a 12-team league where the best players collaborate and join forces, the WNBA’s elite aren’t messing around.

WNBA Playoff Highlights (Game 1s)

Sun def. Lynx (90-60)

Aces def. Sky (87-59)

No Games Tonight

(The Next Games are Scheduled for Friday)

Read More

ESPN: The Top 25 Players of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs

Yahoo! Sports: WNBA Playoffs: Sun, Aces Notch Blowout Wins to Open 1st-Round Series

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SPORTSLETTER SPECIAL

Women\’s Sports Rising

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Photo: Lionel Bonaventure / Getty Images

Inside the Recent Rise of Women’s Sports & What’s Next for Female Trailblazers (By Marissa Kasch)

From personal experience, I can tell you that being a woman in sports is no easy feat. There will always be old-timers who demand the return of traditional sports reporters and analysts. There will always be people who speculate that women couldn’t possibly know as much about sports as men, so they should not be able to hold important positions in sports broadcasting. There will always be the Twitter trolls criticizing female reporters’ appearances and knowledge. I wish I could say that this ignorance is limited to females in sports broadcasting, but unfortunately it extends far beyond that: Female referees, coaches and players face the same discrimination and judgment.

Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go. That being said, we are finally moving in the right direction. Female athletes have experienced an increase in pay, media coverage, viewership and overall respect in recent years – but it hasn’t always been that way.

Read the Full Story (TheSportsletter.com)

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STORYLINES

 Euro 2024 Qualifiers Review

Portugal is still perfect. Italy is coming. This month’s slate of qualifying matches for the 2024 UEFA European Championship wrapped up on Tuesday. Here are six takeaways from the September games. (FOX Sports)

 The Turf vs. Grass Debate

The NFL\’s turf vs. grass playing surface debate has once again been thrust into the spotlight by a prominent injury. Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles tear brings new life to an ongoing conversation, and the NFLPA isn’t happy. (Sporting News)

 No Rest for NBA Stars

The NBA Board of Governors approved a new policy Wednesday that allows the league to fine teams that sit star players during games. Teams can also face punishment for sitting multiple stars during regular-season games. (Yahoo! Sports)

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NEWS

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SCHEDULE

The Must-Watch List

NFL Week 2 (Thursday Night Football)

Vikings at Eagles (8:15 pm ET)

MLB

Marlins at Brewers (2:10 pm ET)

Rangers at Blue Jays (7:07 pm ET)

Yankees at Red Sox (7:15 pm ET)

Rays at Orioles (7:15 pm ET)

College Football

Bethune-Cookman at #22 Miami (7:30 pm ET)
Navy at Memphis (7:30 pm ET)

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