THE WORST GAME | TMK #17

Today, on TMK:

Bad football, good football, and a new trivia segment.

Catch Up:

• 🏈 NFL: Bears Beat Panthers In an Awful Game

• ⚽ Football: Europa League Recap

• 🏀 NBA: Pacers - Bucks, Magic - Hawks

The Main Events:

• 🏀 NBA: Mavs - Clippers, Suns - Lakers

Extra Time:

• Sports Trivia (NEW)

• Quote of the Day

• Can’t Miss Moment

• Stat of the Day

• Video of the Day

🏈 TNF: Chicago Bears 16 - 13 Carolina Panthers

Everyone thought this would be the worst primetime game ever. Everyone was right. You could hear a sigh of relief across the nation when the Panthers’ kicker missed the game-tying shot and spared us the overtime.

Here is a breakdown of the combined drives:

12 punts. One punt return touchdown. Five field goals. One missed field goal. One touchdown.

Both quarterbacks passed for less than 200 yards. The leading receiver in the game was DJ Moore with a mind-bending 58 yards. Do I need to go on?

The only noteworthy thing about this game is that by beating the Panthers, the Bears improved their 2024 drafting position. How? The Bears own the Panthers’ 1st round pick due to the Bryce Young trade.

The Bears are likely to have two top 5 picks next year, so at least there’s that for them. For the Panthers, there seems to be nothing but misery ahead.

⚽ Europa League

Group A

West Ham United 1 - 0 Olympiacos

SC Freiburg 5 - 0 TSC Backa Topola

The top two teams in the group took care of business at home. West Ham will play the bottom team in the league to secure a top-two finish and will hope that Freiburg loses points to Olympiacos.

If the top two teams win next week, they’ll meet for a head-to-head battle over first place in London on the final matchday.

Group B

Ajax 0 - 2 Brighton

AEK Athens 0 - 2 Marseille

Both Brighton and Marseille have completed the home-away sweep of Ajax and AEK, respectively. Ajax is all but out of the Europa League.

AEK will get the chance to catch up to Brighton with a home win after it surprised the English side away in the first matchday. Marseille remains unbeaten and will get the chance to secure a top-two finish next time at home against Ajax.

Group C

Real Betis 4 - 1 Aris Limassol

Rangers 2 - 1 Sparta Prague

So far so good for Real Betis, who is on a three-game winning streak since their away loss to Rangers in the first matchday. Rangers are in a strong position to compete for the top of the group, but they’ll first need to avenge their loss to Aris Limassol who surprised the Scots in their first game.

Group D

Atalanta 1 - 0 Strum Graz

Sporting 2 - 1 Rakow

Atalanta confirms its standing as the overwhelming favorite to finish at the group's top. They’ll have the chance to seal the deal next time against Sporting at home, after having already won the away game.

Strum Graz will need to win against Rakow and hope Sporting loses to Atalanta to set up a final-day showdown for second place.

Group E

Toulouse 3 - 2 Liverpool

LASK 3 - 0 Union Saint-Gilloise

Toulouse defeated Liverpool in the upset of the week, though Liverpool played largely with a B-side. There was late drama as the equalizer was disallowed for a handball very early in Liverpool’s final attack.

LASK dominated USG and did not allow a single shot on target.

Liverpool’s first place isn’t in danger quite yet despite the loss, but Toulouse’s victory gave it a major advantage in the fight for second. They’ll be able to confirm it next time at home against USG.

Group F

Rennes 3 - 1 Panathanaikos

Maccabi Haifa 1 - 2 Villareal

Rennes beat Pana for the second time in a row and almost guaranteed itself a top-two finish by doing so. Villareal is a game behind as its first match against Maccabi Haifa was postponed due to the war in Israel.

In any case, all signs are pointing towards a final matchday confrontation between Rennes and Villareal for the group's top spot.

Group G

Slavia Praha 2 - 0 Roma

Servette 2 - 1 Sheriff

Slavia Praha and Roma split their two-game series, which means this group is very likely to be decided by goal difference. Slavia Praha and Roma will be looking to crush Servette and Sheriff to secure first place.

With the home victory, Servette made a big step towards securing third place and a spot in the Conference league playoffs.

Group H

Leverkusen 1 - 0 Qarabag

Hacken 1 - 3 Molde

Leverkusen snatched the three points with a 94’ minute penalty, and secured first place in the group by doing so. Qarabag and Molde will have a showdown for second, with the loser at least guaranteed a place in the Conference League playoffs.

🏀 NBA

Indiana Pacers 126 - Milwaukee Bucks 124

Every day we get new proof that one man - no matter how good he is - cannot singlehandedly win in the NBA.

With Lillard out with a strained calf, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s offensive skills were on full display last night as he scored an NBA season-high 54 points, only three points away from the Bucks’ franchise record.

But the load was too high to carry efficiently, especially towards the end of the game. Giannis finished with 8 turnovers, including 2 in the final minute with the game on the line. Khris Middleton missed a three-pointer to tie the game with 7 seconds left.

On the other side of the court, Tyrese Haliburton is coming into his own as a legitimate NBA star. Tyrese was already a starting-caliber point guard for the Pacers and has improved his points and assists averages every year, but he is now officially next level. He is currently averaging 22 points and a league-leading 13 assists this year. The Pacers feel like 1 player away from seriously contending.

Orlando Magic 119 - 120 Atlanta Hawks

NBA fans in Mexico City were in for a treat yesterday as Trae Young put up a show. He finished with 41 points and added the game-sealing steal to secure the W for the Hawks.

This was a hotly contested game with both teams digging deep into their rotations as the Mexico City altitude wore down the starting five earlier than usual. In total, 11 players scored in double digits, including Young’s 41.

Paolo Banchero had the opportunity to win the game with 7 seconds left as he found himself open for a three, but couldn’t get it to fall. The Magic did manage to grab the offensive rebound, but Young stripped it away and ended the game.

The Mexican fan base provided an electric atmosphere, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver already promised to be back in the country next year.

🏀 NBA

Dallas Mavericks - LA Clippers

The Dallas Mavericks have had a strong opening to their season, sitting at 6-2 behind 31 points per game from MVP contender Luka Doncic. They’re scoring 120 points a game, 4th in the NBA, and together with Irving, Hardaway, and Willams, the Mavs have a very competitive starting lineup.

That being said, I can’t help but feel like the Mavs haven’t figured it out quite yet. Irving is scoring 20 a game, his lowest average since the 2015 season. He is still playing Robin to Luka’s Batman, rather than being Superman alongside him. The good news is that the Mavs are winning while they’re figuring it out, so there’s not too much to complain about. I hope we do see this Mavs team reach its full potential.

Speaking of potential, the Clippers haven’t had a 100-point game since Harden joined the team. It is still early in the season and Harden has only played two games, but we are getting dangerously close to “embarrassing” territory. The trade for Harden weakened the Clippers’ depth and defense, and they aren’t close to making it up with offense as they’re figuring out how to play together.

Unfortunately, they don’t feel particularly close to figuring out how to do that either.

Phoenix Suns - LA Lakers

Devin Booker and Bradley Beal both stepped on the court this season at one point or another - but never together. This isn’t going to change today, as Devin Booker is out for the game against the Lakers.

The Suns have left Kevin Durant to do all the heavy lifting and Phoenix can genuinely be glad they’re sitting at 4-4 and not worse, given how little their stars have contributed to this season so far. Devin Booker played in two games, and Bradley Beal in one. Kevin Durant has started all eight games and is scoring 29 a game.

The Lakers aren’t in much better shape, and they’re coming to this game on a three-game losing streak, including a 34-point blowout loss to the Rockets in the last game. Are the Lakers banged up? Yes. Would it have mattered? I’m not sure.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - the Lakers aren’t going anywhere with a minute cap on LeBron James, who is still leading the team in scoring. LeBron is the Lakers’ best player, and the Lakers cannot afford to underplay their first option. The Lakers are trying to have their cake and eat it too, by relying too much on Lebron AND capping his minutes at the same time. It makes no sense.

Other Games

Detroit Pistons - Philadelphia 76ers

Washington Wizards - Charlotte Hornets

Boston Celtics - Brooklyn Nets

Houston Rockets - New Orleans Pelicans

Memphis Grizzlies - Utah Jazz

San Antonio Spurs - Minnesota Timberwolves

Oklahoma City Thunder - Sacramento Kings

❓Sports Trivia

Leverkusen, Freiburg, and Liverpool lead Europa League scoring with 12 goals in 4 games. What is the highest-scoring team in the Europa League group stages’ history?

The answer is in the Wrap-Up.

🗣️ Quote Of The Day

“We have to be better”

Panthers QB and #1 draft pick Bryce Young after yet another dreadful game and loss to the Bears. Talk about stating the obvious. The Panthers are hopeless.

⭐ Can’t Miss Moment

Thijs Dallinga Doesn’t Need to Look Up

He knows where the goal is. The 23-year-old is a natural striker and is going places.

🧮 Stat Of The Day

Champions League Squads By Value

Just a daily reminder that United (#1, 997 Million) lost to Copenhagen (#31, 27 Million).

📽️ Video of the Day

Zidane X Messi Interview

Two all-time greats spend 30 minutes discussing football. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Click HERE to watch on Youtube.

Wrap Up

Today is the calm before the storm, as everyone gears up and rests ahead of a crazy weekend. Thank god for the NBA. See you tomorrow.

Trivia answer: Napoli (2015/16) with 22 goals in 6 games.