Championship Brew
Happy Thursday — and congratulations, Milwaukee! The Brewers finished off Tampa Bay in Game 5 last night to win their first World Series championship in franchise history, capping off one of the most dominant postseason runs in years. We’ll look back at how the Brew Crew got there below — and how little weight the early 2027 markets are giving their repeat chances. Plus, the WNBA could crown a champion… at the incredibly weird hour of 12:30 this afternoon, “Inside the NBA” will be bidding farewell to the great Ernie Johnson, and Thursday Night Football gets Week 8 underway with the Packers hosting the Panthers — a 1996 NFC title game rematch that, in 2026, serves as a battle of two highly confusing teams. Here’s what else we’re watching today:
The Main Events
All listed times are Eastern. 🚨= Elimination game
MLB:
⚾🏆 World Series: Brewers win! 🎉
WNBA:
🏀🏆 WNBA Finals: Valkyries (36%) at Dream (64%) - Game 6, 12:30 p.m. (No, that’s not a misprint) - (Peacock) 🚨
🏀🏆 WNBA title check-in: Valkyries 69% to win
NBA:
🏀 Cavaliers (49%) at Hawks (51%) - 8 p.m. (NBA TV)
🏀 Kings (32%) at Pelicans (68%) - 8 p.m.
🏀 Grizzlies (28%) at Trail Blazers (72%) - 10 p.m.
🏀🏆 NBA title check-in: Spurs 22% to win
NHL:
🏒 Blue Jackets (30%) at Hurricanes (70%) - 7 p.m.
🏒 Jets (32%) at Lightning (68%) - 7 p.m.
🏒 Blackhawks (37%) at Red Wings (63%) - 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
🏒🏆 Stanley Cup check-in: Hurricanes 12% to win
Football:
🏈 Thursday Night Football: Panthers (35%) at Packers (65%) - 8:15 p.m. (Prime Video)
🏈 CFB: Troy (9%) at James Madison (91%) - 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
🏈 CFB: FAU (17%) at North Texas (83%) - 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
🏈🏆 Super Bowl check-in: 49ers 16% to win the NFL title
🏈🏆 College Football Playoff check-in: Georgia 19% to win the national title
Soccer:
⚽ Serie A: Atalanta (33%) at Fiorentina (42%) - 3:45 p.m. (Paramount+)
⚽🏆 Champions League check-in: FC Barcelona 24% to win
⚽🏆 Premier League title check-in: Arsenal FC 67% to win
⚽🏆 Europa League check-in: SL Benfica 18% to win
⚽🏆 MLS title check-in: Nashville SC 20% to win MLS Cup
⚽🏆 NWSL title check-in: San Diego Wave FC 27% to win
Golf:
⛳ VidantaWorld Mexico Open, Round 1: Wyndham Clark 6% to win
A freshly Brewed title
The long baseball journey that began for all of us back in March officially came to an end Wednesday night, as the Milwaukee Brewers capped off a 4-1 World Series victory over the Tampa Bay Rays with, fittingly, a 4-1 victory in Game 5. Unlike in the dramatic extra-innings affair of Game 4, the Rays were unable to get an early lead and keep the pressure on Milwaukee, nor were they able to get much going offensively against Jacob Misiorowski and the Brewers’ pitchers.
And that was basically the theme of the series. The Rays were held to a .182 batting average, .224 on-base percentage and .467 OPS in the Fall Classic, plating just 12 runs in 5 games and scoring 2 runs or fewer in 3 of those contests. It’s hard to win that way, especially when Milwaukee’s bullpen slammed the door so often late in games. Brewer relievers Aaron Ashby and Abner Uribe allowed just 3 hits, 1 walk and zero runs while piling up 14 strikeouts in 11 combined innings.
On the other side, Milwaukee hit a healthy .280 with a .350 OBP and .745 OPS in the series, with series MVP William Contreras hitting .381 (in addition to his excellent defense and incredible sense for challenging balls and strikes) and Jackson Chourio, Cooper Pratt and Brice Turang each checking in with OPS numbers of .900 or higher. Top to bottom, this was a complete effort from a complete ballclub.
Not that we (or anyone else) can claim they clearly saw this coming. For most of the season, the juggernaut LA Dodgers were prohibitive favorites to win the title, and the Brewers faced great skepticism. Going into the two teams’ NLCS rematch, all signs pointed to more of the same Dodger domination the Brewers experienced in last year’s sweep. But instead, Milwaukee were the ones who did the sweeping, casting aside Hollywood’s finest, and then they nearly swept the World Series as well. For a franchise that had not won a championship in 57 previous years of existence, this was an unlikely explosion of greatness indeed.
Now, as the confetti clears, we have to look ahead to next season. And much like the New York Knicks — to whom I think the Brewers can easily be compared as a shocking, historically dominant champion — the 2027 title odds are not giving Milwaukee much respect in their repeat bid:
That only matters — well, to the extent it matters at all — if there IS a season next year, of course. And that’s probably the biggest baseball storyline to follow for the time being. We’ll surely (and unfortunately) have a lot more on the labor strife over the months to come, but MLB’s owners are reportedly ready to fight the players for a salary cap, which could delay the start of next season if an agreement isn’t reached. Prediction market traders think there’s just an 8% chance that the two sides will agree on a new collective bargaining agreement before the current one expires on Dec. 2:
That alone doesn’t guarantee missed games next season; the sides could still reach a deal before the schedule is affected. And there’s plenty of time to worry about that. For now, let’s give Milwaukee its moment: the Brewers have finally brewed up a champion. Enjoy it, Milwaukee! And here's hoping you get the chance to defend the crown on time next spring.
Afternoon delight?
In the major North American pro sports leagues, the championship game (or series) is the premier prime-time showcase for the best of the best to perform in front of the biggest possible audience. But in a bizarre and unfortunate twist of logistical fate, the WNBA’s championship could be clinched today… in the early afternoon. While Games 1-5 of the series have either been on in primetime on weeknights or afternoons on weekends — both normal slots for big sports events — a scheduling conflict at State Farm Arena in Atlanta (where the Hawks have a game later tonight) has caused the league to start a potential championship clincher at 12:30 p.m. local time. That’s if the visiting Golden State Valkyries win; if Atlanta extends the series, Game 7 would be at 8 p.m. on Saturday. But if not, we could see a completely bizarre outlier in terms of when a championship is handed out.
What else we’re reading
Smart, short reads we liked while building today’s odds.
🏀 “OKC’s light amidst the darkness” by David Thorpe
🏈 “Is This New Mexico’s Moment? Eck Yeah, Brother” by Alex Kirshner and Rodger Sherman
🏀 “New Orleans Pelicans, the Laggards of the NBA” by Garrison Giddens
🏈 “The Middle of the Field Doesn’t Exist — But it will soon” by Ray Carpenter
⚽ “Athletes, China and the Commercial Cost of Speaking Freely For Mbappé” by David Skilling
Next on deck…
Friday (10/30)
🏈 CFB: Baylor at UCF
⚾🏆 World Series: Rays at Brewers, Game 6 (if necessary) 🚨
🏀🏆 WNBA Finals: No games. (Off-day)
🏀 NBA: Lakers at Warriors
🏒 NHL: Devils at Golden Knights
⚽ La Liga: Villarreal vs. Espanyol
⛳ Golf: VidantaWorld Mexico Open (Round 2)
Saturday (10/31) - Happy Halloween! 🎃
🏈 CFB: #2 Ohio State at USC
🏈 CFB: #22 Arizona at #13 Texas Tech
🏈 CFB: #17 Florida vs. #3 Georgia (in Atlanta)
⚾🏆 World Series: Rays at Brewers, Game 7 (if necessary) 🚨
🏀🏆 WNBA Finals: Dream at Valkyries, Game 7 (if necessary) 🚨
🏀 NBA: Thunder at Rockets
🏒 NHL: Maple Leafs at Canucks
⚽ Premier League: Chelsea at Manchester United
🥊 MMA: UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Nolan
🥊 Boxing: Canelo Alvarez vs. Christian Mbilli
⛳ Golf: VidantaWorld Mexico Open (Round 3)
Sunday (11/1)
🏈 NFL: Ravens at Bills
🏈 NFL: Vikings at Lions
🏈 NFL: Chiefs at Broncos
🏈 NFL: Browns at Steelers
🏀 NBA: Clippers at Warriors
🏒 NHL: Oilers at Rangers
⚽ Premier League: Arsenal at Liverpool
🏁 NASCAR: Cup Series: Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway
🏁 F1: Mexican Grand Prix
⛳ Golf: VidantaWorld Mexico Open (Final Round)
