College football returns in the best way (unless you're an LSU fan), plus Judge, Pujols keep hitting home runs - CBSSports.com

2022-09-23 20:58:20 By : Ms. Sarah Zhang

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Hi everyone! Happy Monday and happy Labor Day! Hope you're enjoying a long weekend as we bring you a special holiday version of the CBS Sports HQ AM newsletter.

Let's get right to it.

I know I'm supposed to write for a living, but I'm not sure I have the words to describe this one. Oh well. Here we go.

LSU fans, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. This loss is one for the ages.

I'm exhausted just from typing that.

This was college football at its peak. There were several times when fans on both sides had hands on their heads and jaws on the floor -- while reacting to the exact same play. It was beautiful, and it was ugly, and it was stupefying, and it was ingenious. You couldn't write a script with more twists and turns. Welcome back, college football.

If you thought the Georgia Bulldogs were going anywhere after their national championship, think again. The Bulldogs opened their title defense with a 49-3 win over No. 11 Oregon.

This was the third time since the start of last season that Georgia has held a ranked opponent to three points or fewer. All other teams combined have done it twice over that span. Offensively, things were just as good if not better, writes our college football reporter Barrett Sallee.

Our college football expert Shehan Jeyarajah, meanwhile, named Georgia his top "winner" in his winners and losers column from Week 1 .

... AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING TO THE NO. 2 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES

So far, so good for the Ohio State Buckeyes' defense under new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. With the high-powered Buckeye offense struggling, it was the defense that stepped up in a 21-10 win over No. 5 Notre Dame.

While it wasn't the offensive explosion we've come to know from Ohio State recently, the Buckeyes still earned an A+ in Barrett's Week 1 grades . Shehan, meanwhile, says the offense is a bit of a cause for concern .

There's no home run race this year -- Aaron Judge has 17 more than anyone else -- but there are a couple of chases for history, and the guys chasing them aren't showing any signs of slowing down.

Judge cranked a 450-foot lead-off home run in a win over the Rays on Sunday to get to a career-high 53 on the season. He also hit one on Saturday , meaning he's currently on pace for 64 this season . The AL home run record is 61 from Yankees slugger Roger Maris in 1961. Tthere are only eight 60-home run seasons in MLB history.

Meanwhile, Albert Pujols hit a clutch home run of his own, a go-ahead two-run pinch-hit shot in the eighth inning to give the Cardinals a 2-0 win over the Cubs. It's career home run number 695 for Pujols, one short of tying Alex Rodriguez for fourth all time. Here's the list:

Pujols has hit nine of his 16 home runs this season since August 1.

The Las Vegas Aces and Chicago Sky both came away with key Game 3 victories and now, both leading their respective series 2-1, are one game away from meeting in the WNBA Finals.

Let's start in Seattle, where the Aces won an overtime thriller, 110-98 , vs. the Storm.

It wasn't quite as high-scoring of an affair between the Sky and Sun -- 76-72 -- but Chicago is just fine with that.

Candace Parker had 16 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks to lead the way. She also tied Tamika Catchings for most double-doubles in playoff history with 27. This performance was "a testament to her greatness," Jack says.

If you still have a fantasy football draft on your radar before the season starts, make sure you're ready with all of the terrific fantasy football content our experts have produced. You can see everything you need to know for your draft -- including fantasy guru Chris Towers' Top 200 -- here .

Also, if you're trying to identify some all-important sleepers, SportsLine has you covered  using the same formula that nailed Damien Harris last season.

Let's be honest: Having a bad fantasy football team stinks. So follow our advice, and don't have a bad team.

⚽ Monza vs. Atalanta, 12:15 p.m. on Paramount+ 🏈 No. 4 Clemson vs. Georgia Tech, 8 p.m. on ESPN

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