The Scoreboard with Tanner Lehtinen (Oct 17-21)

Houston, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, all cities of winners, of champions. But what about San Diego? What about Philadelphia? What if the underdog won it all? So far this week’s NLCS matchup between the red-hot Padres and the underdog Phillies has been an exciting matchup. Along with that, the Astros led behind an 11-strikeout game by Justin Verlander in game 1, fighting off the powerful hitting of the Yankees. With both series now through game 2, game 3 rapidly approaches as they chase down the World Series.

 The Padres, with Manny Machado, have beaten 2 100+ win teams to reach this point, that being the Mets and the Dodgers. Many fans are still skeptical of how these series may shake out, one of which is 16-year-old sophomore Grant Sorenson. Sorenson said “At this time in the semi-finals, I believe it will be the Houston Astros vs the Philadelphia Phillies, though I wish it would be the Yankees vs Padres, the sad reality is that those two teams are better. Hoping for the best, but we’ll see, anticipation is what makes baseball fun.” Manny Machado is having a postseason to remember with 2 Homeruns, 5 runs batted in, and 8 hits. Meanwhile, the Phillies have shocked the world by beating 2 of the top teams in the league, the Cardinals and Braves, and are led by the strong batting of Bryce Harper and the amazing postseason performance of pitcher Zack Wheeler with 17 strikeouts this postseason. With the series tied at 1-1 after a resurgent Padres win, only time will tell who makes history. 

Meanwhile, in the NFL, could this be the last hoorah of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers? Aaron Rodgers, currently the 14th-best quarterback in the NFL, has had what some may call a sub-par season, and there are many people to blame. From the failing offensive line to the inexperienced receiving core, Aaron Rodgers hasn’t had much help so far this season. With crushing losses to both New York teams the Jets and Giants, the Packers are currently at 3-3 and itching towards a losing record. In no way is Aaron Rodgers a bad quarterback however, the 4 time MVP and super bowl champion are a first-ballot Hall of Famer, to say the least. Sophomore Logan Meagher spoke about Aaron Rodgers by stating “Rodgers has played below average for his standard. He has no games over 300 yards passing or 3 plus touchdown games.” Meagher also made the bold prediction “ I think this is Rodger’s last year as a Packer, but this is not his final year in the league.” But will Aaron Rodgers be like another great quarterback Dan Marino, a Hall of Famer for the Miami Dolphins, and go out in a cloud of smoke? 

However, in the world of college football. The college football playoffs are rapidly approaching and many exciting games are yet to be played. Some of the biggest games of the season left to be are Tennessee traveling to UGA to steal the top spot from the Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama traveling to Ole Miss to regain their chase for the CFP, and the fateful game of Ohio State and Michigan to decide who goes on to the CFP. Junior Gabe Chayee stated, “I feel like Tennessee has been a surprising team after whooping Bama, I got Georgia all the way.” The Populus may speak differently, but I believe this year’s college football playoffs will be interesting, to say the least. 

With exciting NL and ALCS action, the end of an era in Packers football, and predictions about the closing stretch of the college football season, it will be essential to stay informed and keep checking the Scoreboard.