MESSI x 8 | TMK #7 - October 31

Today, on Polysport:

A 🐐 wins a golden ball, a Beard gets traded, and the Greek Freak turns into the Green Freak.

News Roundup:

• Messi Wins 8th Ballon d’Or

• NBA Recap - Luka MVP, Harden Traded

• Rangers Take Game 3 of World Series

• Lions Take the W on MNF

Today’s Action:

• NBA - Wemby @ Suns, Knicks @ Cavs

• NHL -Kings @ Maple Leafs

• World Series Game 4

Quick Bites

• Quote of the Day

• Can’t Miss Moment

• Stat of the Day

• Video of the Day

⚽ Ballon d’Or - Who Won What?

Ballon d’Or

Lionel Messi, PSG (Inter Miami), Argentina

Look surprised: Lionel Messi won his 8th Ballon d’Or at the France Football event yesterday evening. Rumors and leaks of Messi’s win have been swirling around the sports world for a few days, so absolutely no one was shocked to hear his name called out. Messi won this Ballon d’Or due to his success with Argentina in the previous World Cup, something he acknowledged and the reason why he dedicated this Ballon d’Or to all of Argentina. 

Should Messi have won from a sporting perspective is a good question, but in sports awards, the narrative always dictates the result. Messi’s fairytale quest to win the World Cup was undeniably THE narrative of the past footballing year.

Women Ballon d’Or

Aitana Bonmatí, Spain, Barcelona. 

I’m not going to sit here and pretend to know anything about women’s football or what the stories coming into the event were, so I’ll say congratulations and move on to categories I actually know something about.

Kopa Trophy

Jude Bellingham, Borussia Dortmund (Real Madrid), England

Who else? The Best Young Player award could not have gone to any other player. Bellingham was brilliant at Dortmund last season, and his talent is on full display this year at Real Madrid. He led Dortmund to the cusp of the German Bundesliga, but a dramatic last matchday saw Bayern eke out the Championship on goal difference. 

This year, Bellingham has added goal-scoring to his impressive arsenal as a midfielder and is the consensus leading early-season contender for this season’s Ballon d’Or.

Yashin Trophy

Emiliano Martinez, Aston Villa, Argentina 

Much like the Ballon d’Or this year, the best goalkeeper award was awarded based on World Cup performance. Martinez’s heroics in the World Cup included two penalty shootouts, a clean sheet against Croatia in the semifinals, and many game-changing stops - including one against French striker Kolo-Muani in the finals’ stoppage time. 

Gerd Muller Trophy

Erling Haaland, Manchester City, Norway

Scoring 52 goals in 53 matches, winning the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the Champions League wasn’t enough to overshadow Argentina’s World Cup victory - but no one came even close to Haaland’s productivity as a striker last season. Get him the ball in the box and watch him go to work. The Gerd Muller trophy is often seen as a consolation prize for 2nd place in the Ballon d’Or running, but Haaland fully deserves the recognition as the World’s Best Striker.

Socrates Award

Vinicius Jr, Real Madrid, Brazil

The Socrates Award, established in 2022, highlights societal contributions by footballers, as well as charity and humanitarian work. Vini Jr won the award for his involvement and contribution to improving access to education in impoverished parts of his native Brazil. 

🏀NBA Recap

Luka Doncic for MVP

It’s only been three games, but Luka Doncic is already establishing himself as a front-runner for the MVP award this year. The Slovenian led the Mavs past the Grizzlies 125 - 110 with another triple-double, having scored 35 points with 12 rebounds and 12 assists. 

The Dallas Mavericks now sit at 3-0 on the season, and Luka is averaging 39 points per game and a triple-double. Surely he can’t keep this up…can he?

Harden Finally Gets Traded to the Clippers

After Harden called the 76ers GM Morey a “liar” multiple times during the offseason, there was no other way this could’ve played out. Harden finally got his trade wish and will be paired up with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to form a new big 3 and hopefully contend for the NBA title.

The 76ers sent Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev to the Clippers for Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, KJ Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 pick swap and an additional first-round pick that'll be routed from a third team, sources told ESPN. 

Giannis and Lillard Lead Bucks Past Heat, 122-114

The Bucks won’t forget their 4-1 series loss to the Heat anytime soon, and they played like it. Giannis (33 points) and Lillard (25 points) dominated the Heat and led by 24 points entering the 4th quarter until Miami’s reserves made this game a lot closer than it should’ve been. 

The inability to put teams away has been a weakness of the Bucks in recent years, but their performance was cohesive and they’re starting to gel as a team.

From Around the League

• Steph Curry led the Warriors past the Pelicans 130-102 with 42 points, his second 40+ point game of the season.

• The Nuggets are a perfect 4-0 after a 110-102 victory over the Jazz, led by Jokic who finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. 

• The Celtics are up to 3-0 with a 126-107 win over the Wizards, thanks to Jaylen Brown’s 36 points.

• Dejounte Murray justified his new 4-year, 120M contract with a 41-point performance and a 127-113 victory over the Timberwolves. 

⚾ Rangers Win Game 3 of World Series, 3-1

The Texas Rangers are on a remarkable nine-game road-winning streak in the playoffs, after beating the Diamondbacks 3-1 in Arizona to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series. No team had ever won 9 consecutive playoff road games before today.

The Rangers won even though starting pitcher Max Scherzer was forced to leave the game in the 4th inning with back spasms. Jon Gray stepped up as a reliever and delivered three strong innings to keep the Rangers in front. 

The Rangers are now 2 wins from their first World Series title and will win it in Arizona on Wednesday if they manage to keep their road win streak alive.

🏈 Lions Take the W on MNF, 26-14

The Lions defeated the Raiders 26-14 to bounce back from their loss to the Ravens and reach the mid-season point with a 6-2 record. Lions QB Jared Goof threw for 272 passing yards and one touchdown, but the star of the show was rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who finished the game with 152 rushing yards and a touchdown.

On the other side of the field, QB Jimmy Garoppolo was unable to spark the Raiders offense after missing 2 games with an injury. He finished with a lowly 126 yards passing and one interception. Davante Adams, arguably a top-10 receiver in the league in terms of ability, finished with one catch for 11 yards. The Raiders should consider trading him away before the trade deadline today if they aren’t going to use him. We all deserve to see Adams at his best. The Las Vegas Raiders fall to 3-5 with this loss.

🏀 NBA

Phoenix Suns - San Antonio Spurs

The Wemby show hits the road with a trip to Arizona after being manhandled and limited to 11 points in the Spurs’ 40-point loss to the Clippers. It is clear that Coach Pop is easing him in, and has said to the media that Wemby will have to learn to deal with physical play and extra attention from opposing teams.

Meanwhile, the Suns will continue to try and build chemistry, as Durant and Booker have only played one game together this season. Bradley Beal, the missing piece of the Suns’ scoring three, is yet to play a game and is still out injured.

Cleveland Cavaliers - New York Knicks

In another rematch of last season’s playoffs, the Cavs are hosting the Knicks. Both teams come into this game with a 1-2 record and will likely fight for a playoff spot later in the season, lending this game extra importance. The Cavs have been hobbled by injuries, with Mitchell, Garland, and Allen all missing time. Mitchell is questionable to return vs the Knicks. 

The Knicks come into this game having scored a paltry 87 points in a loss to the Pelicans in their last game. RJ Barrett led the Knicks scorers with 18 points, and the Knicks shot 7-37 (19%) as a team from the 3-point line. This’ll have to improve for the Knicks to have any chance at victory - even against a diminished Cavs team.

⚾ World Series, Game 4

Texas Rangers left-hander Andrew Heaney is set to start Game 4 of the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Heaney is stepping in for Jon Gray, who had to pitch in Game 3. Both teams are likely to rely on multiple relievers during the game.

Heaney had a 10-6 record in the regular season and has made several postseason appearances, including two starts.

The Diamondbacks have stuck to their three proven starting pitchers throughout the postseason and will continue to do so. Joe Mantiply, who has appeared in eight playoff games, will serve as the opener in Game 4. His task is to pitch a clean first inning, primarily to face left-handed batter Corey Seager, who has been a key contributor for the Rangers in Games 1 and 3 with his home runs.

🏒 NHL

Toronto Maple Leafs - Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings are a good hockey team. They took a 2-0 lead against the undefeated Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday before squandering the lead and losing the game in a shootout. They are perhaps not quite there yet with the best of them, having also lost to the Boston Bruins, but they look like a potential playoff team who will have a much better season if they can figure out how to win at home.

The Maple Leafs are equally matched with the Kings, led by Matthews with 7 goals and Tavares with 7 assists. This is a good matchup between two “upper middle” class teams looking to prove they have what it takes.

🗣️ Quote Of The Day

“I couldn’t imagine having the career that I’ve had. Everything that I’ve achieved. The fortune I’ve had playing for the best team in the world, the best team in history. It’s nice to win these individual trophies. To win the Copa America and then the World Cup, to get it done is amazing.”

Messi, upon winning his 8th Ballon d’Or. Always a team player - always chasing titles.

⭐ Can’t Miss Moment

Giannis embraces Halloween, shows up as the Hulk

Giannis is the king of fun.

🧮 Stat Of The Day

Lionel Messi, 8 Ballons d’Or

2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023. This record is likely to stand for a hundred years, and perhaps forever.

📽️ Video of the Day

Why Messi Doesn’t Run

Yes. More Messi. Today might as well be renamed Messi day. He’s earned it.

Messi doesn’t run a lot these days and is content to walk his way to goal. Why?

Click HERE to watch on Youtube.

Wrap Up

Any day where we celebrate one of the greatest football players in history is a good day. This mid-week lacks European football, but we’re lucky to have the World Series and the NBA to fill up our sports tank.