So, it looks like Beats by Dre has done it again and created an awesome new ad, this time featuring LeBron James. Check out the newly released commercial that shows what LeBron means to Akron. Oh, and have a wonderful Monday!

QUIPS FOR THIS WEEK

NFL

Let’s start with pro football today. In their first game without Percy Harvin (whom they traded to the New York Jets), reigning champion Seattle Seahawks lost on a trick play to the St. Louis Rams 28-26 while the Detroit Lions defeated the struggling New Orleans Saints 24-23 at home. The Chicago Bears lost at home to the Miami Dolphins 27-14, the Indianapolis Colts shut out the Cincinnati Bengals 27-0 in owner Jim Irsay’s first game back after his suspension and the Green Bay Packers picked up a solid win against the Carolina Panthers 38-17 in a game where Aaron Rodgers had 3 touchdowns. Oh, and Sammy Watkins had a great winning catch as the Buffalo Bills picked up the win against the Minnesota Vikings 17-16.

Two of the biggest games of the weekend featured the Dallas Cowboys extending their impressive record with a big win against NFC East rival, the New York Giants, 31-21 at home in a game where DeMarco Murray set a NFL running back record, while Sunday night’s big match-up featured the Denver Broncos winning 42-17 against the San Francisco 49ers in Denver. In other news, the Broncos’ star QB, Peyton Manning, topped Brett Favre’s record for career touchdown passes after his 509th career scoring pass Sunday night. Congrats, Peyton!

This week’s Monday Night Football features the Houston Texans on the road at the Pittsburgh Steelers!

College Football

Moving along to the college football world, this weekend was a full of great games. Despite off the field distractions involving quarterback Jameis Winston, #2 Florida State came back and defeated #5 Notre Dame (now #7) in a close home game that ended 31-27 while #3 Ole Miss easily defeated Tennessee 34-3 at home.

In all things big wins, #4 Baylor (now #12) wasn’t so lucky and was upset by West Virginia 41-27 on the road in a game that included post-game fan riots while #4 Alabama (then #7) dominated #21 Texas A&M (now unranked) 59-0 in Tuscaloosa.

Let’s talk rankings. There’s nothing new to report but the top five now looks like this: Mississippi State, Florida State, Ole Miss, Alabama and Auburn. Oh wait, there is something there: four SEC West teams are ranked in 4 of the 5 top spots, which is an AP first.

Baseball

Guess what?!?! It’s almost time for the World Series! How did we get here? Well, the Kansas City Royals continued their off-season magic (they haven’t lost a game in the post-season) and defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship to reach the World Series. On the other side, their opponent the San Francisco Giants took down the St. Louis Cardinals in 5 games to close out the the National League Championship and advance to the only series that counts.

There’s a lot to talk about in the World Series match-up from the history of the Royals and the strength of their bullpen to the achievements of the Giants’ Buster Posey to the off-the-field competition between two very different cities… One thing’s for sure, this is going to be a fun World Series to watch.

Okay, so where do you watch? Check out Game 1 of the World Series Tuesday, October 21st in Kansas City and see the rest of the schedule here. Enjoy and take it all in, October baseball only comes around once a year!

NBA

Oh hello basketball season. We know it’s early but there are already a few things to talk about. First, the NBA is considering changing the length of the game and experimented with a 44 minute game (usually they are 48) on Friday night as the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets. It’s too early to tell if the NBA will adopt this new time constraint going forward, but some players are in favor of this or decreasing the amount of total games in the season instead. Of note, Michael Jordan disagrees.

Kevin Durant had surgery on his right foot last Thursday to repair a broken bone called a “Jones Fracture.” Durant is expected to be out of the line-up for the Oklahoma City Thunder for at least 6 weeks. Here’s to wishing him a quick and healthy recovery!

On Friday, the NBA announced a global partnership with the Chinese ministry of education, to foster “fitness and basketball development into their schools’ curriculum at the elementary, middle school and high school levels.” The multi-year partnership is a first of its kind and is expected to strengthen the continued growth of basketball and the popularity of the NBA in China.

Want to catch all the action in the NBA? Check out the season schedule here so you can watch your teams and favorite players throughout the year on TV.

Other

The WTA tour has fined and banned Russian Tennis Federation President Shamil Tarpischev for one year after he called Serena and Venus Williams “brothers” and questioned their gender. Serena Williams stated “I think the WTA did a great job of taking [the] initiative and taking immediate action to his comments, I thought they were very insensitive and extremely sexist as well as racist at the same time. I thought they were, in a way, bullying” in response to the remarks by Tarpischev.

In all things NASCAR, Brad Keselowski picked up a big must-win at Talladega to advance in the Sprint Cup Series while both Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were eliminated from competition.

Who doesn’t love Nashville? It’s so awesome that the NHL is hosting the 2016 All-Star game at the home of the Nashville Predators. That’s great music, food and hockey — check mate.

Finally, Landon Donovan played his last soccer game Sunday night for the LA Galaxy as he is set to retire after the season. So, what better way to go out than with a special rendition of “End of the Road” by none other than Boyz II Men.

JUST FOR FUN

Celebrate good times, come on!
The (sort of) official rankings of the best and worst NHL team celebratory songs

Airball!
That one time Drake tried to warm up with the University of Kentucky basketball team

 

STORIES FOR INSIGHTS, COOL FACTOR + DEBATE

Seamless integration
The new NBA TV deal is paving the way for advertising on jerseys
The deal outlines Turner and ESPN’s role, and establishes how to divide up the revenue between teams

Fighting
The story of Steve Cunningham and his daughter
She’s suffering from hypoplastic left heart syndrome, and he got back up and stayed in the ring to keep her alive

Time Off
How a Notre Dame football star spent his exile time wisely
After taking a season off for violating the academic honor code, Everett Golson is back and better than ever

America
What exactly makes Americans’ appreciation for sports different?
Some convenient and colorful diagrams that’ll help you understand the sports industry’s role in America

A Positive Force
Sports help homeless athletes to succeed
We only hear about the hardships athletes faced once they become famous — but what about the young, talented high school players encountering issues right now?

Derrick Rose
Not the same player he used to be
What’s the price of changing? After recovering from his torn ACL, Rose is about to find out