🍌 MLB's Newest Expansion Team: The Savannah Bananas

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Anyways, the winner will be announced at the end…

🗞 The Big Story: MLB Buys Banana Ball?

📉 Biggest Loser: If You’re 0-2, You’re Screwed

🏆 Winner’s Circle: McVay’s Controversial Field Goal

⬇️ Listen: Women’s sports are having a moment right now, but can it last? Jake and I debate that on this week’s episode:

🗞 The Big Story

The Savannah Bananas are going to become MLB’s newest expansion team.

Let me explain.

Background: The Bananas just finished their 7-month, 80-game, 33-city world tour where the team played in front of half a million fans.

• 500,000+ ticket waitlist (4x the Green Bay Packers)

• Played in minor league stadiums across the US

• Sold out 6,500+ seat venues in minutes

• 8x the amount of TikTok followers as the largest MLB team

A Slow Embrace: MLB hasn’t always been warm to the idea of Banana Ball, but in just the past year they’ve started to come around:

• A team of 35 and older former MLB players fielded by the Major League Baseball Player Alumni Association (MLBPAA) played three games against the Bananas

• The Bananas are currently on exhibit in the Baseball Hall of Fame

The Perfect Pair: MLB has the oldest fans among major American sports, with an average age of 57 according to Front Office Sports. Meanwhile, Savannah Bananas’ crowds look more like middle school assemblies than baseball games.

Inversely, while the Bananas are popular they have yet to achieve their owner’s ultimate goal of playing in Major League ballparks. A vision that could be much sooner realized through a direct partnership or even an acquisition by MLB.

Not to mention the increase in resources and access to top baseball talent the Bananas would get to enable them to put on an even more impressive show.

Who says no?

📉 Biggest Loser

Eight teams enter NFL Week 3 with a record of 0-2:

• Broncos

• Vikings

• Chargers

• Bengals

• Bears

• Texans

• Panthers

• Patriots

Historically, this is a hurdle that most teams have not been able to overcome.

By the Numbers: Since 1990 when the 12-team playoff started, 265 teams have started the season 0-2, and of those teams, only 30 have turned it around to make the playoffs.

In fact, if you start 0-2 things are grim:

• 11.3% chance of making the playoffs

• Average season total of 5.4 wins and 10.4 losses

• 77% chance of finishing the season with a losing record

The Brightside: Five teams have managed to finish 12-4 after starting the season 0-2, with last year’s Bengals and the 2013 Panthers being the most recent examples.

• Teams that reach the Super Bowl after going 0-2 have gone on to win it three out of the four times it has happened.

Watch Out: My pick for the team most likely to turn their season around this year? The obvious answer is the Bengals but don’t sleep on the Chargers…

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💰 Pick of the Week

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🏆 Winner’s Circle

Fans want Sean McVay investigated for a field goal… others want to kiss him on the lips.

Background: Last week, the Rams were driving down the field late in the fourth quarter against the 49ers down by 10 points. For all intents and purposes, the game was over.

But after a 25-yard completion to Puka Nacua with 14 seconds left on the clock the Rams did something most people weren’t expecting…

They spiked the ball with 4 seconds left and elected to kick a field goal.

Brett Maher, of course, made it as time expired and the Rams lost 30-23.

Why Is This Weird: The Rams were down by 10 points, so the three points McVay elected to take as time expired seemed pointless.

But not to the internet, which exploded with conspiracy theories over the decision. That’s because the last-second field goal covered the +7.5 point spread on the game (the Rams lost by fewer than 8 points).

 Did McVay Do This On Purpose?: He says no.

The Ram’s coach claims he had no knowledge of the spread, rather he was trying to:

• Kick a field goal with more time left

• Convert an onside kick

• Score a touchdown to erase the 10-point deficit

However, the final throw to Nacua took up too much time. So instead of leaving an aging Stafford out there for one last heave, he just decided to take the points as he had already planned.

The Ram-ifications: 71% of the money on the game was on the 49ers to cover -7.5 points (win by 8 or more points), and those people were naturally the loudest detractors of the decision.

But one bettor actually cashed a $65K wager on the last-second kick in what has to be the best feeling of all time.

⏱ In Other News

• NFL viewership is up 2% in its first two weeks, the highest it has been since 2018.

• The XFL and USFL are merging.

• Monday Night Football is cursed.

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👋 Congrats to Grace Z. for being selected to win any NFL jersey of your choosing. I’ll be sending you an email to confirm the details.

And everyone else stay tuned for another giveaway cooking next month 👀

P.S. - No new edition of Bottom of the Ninth next week as I will be gallivanting across Europe. I’ll talk to you when I get back ✌️