Things That Caught My Eye

Based on rosters from the 31 NHL teams, only 34 players will not use a visor on their helmet this season. This breaks down to about 94 percent of players wearing the extra protection. [The Associated Press]

Congratulations to the New York Jets for beating the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, but even more congratulations are in order for… the Cleveland Browns, who at the time of the loss had a 55 percent chance to earn the #1 pick in the NFL draft, compared to the now less than 1 percent chance of getting the top pick for the Jets. [ESPN]

Oklahoma was favored to beat the Iowa State Cyclones by 30.5 points Saturday but instead lost 38-31, shaking up the college football playoff situation and causing the worst upset for Oklahoma in 40 seasons. [ESPN, Stats & Info]

The U.S. men’s national team, after beating Panama, is now in good position to make the 2018 World Cup — but they still have an opportunity to screw this one up. A win against Trinidad & Tobago on the road Tuesday gets them in; a loss opens the door to not qualifying based on what Panama and Honduras do in their matches. [SB Nation]

Odell Beckham Jr. sustained an ankle injury Sunday in a game against the San Diego Chargers, putting his season in doubt. His play-by-play performance since he entered the league in 2014 has translated to about 2.3 points added per game, which is huge for a non-quarterback. [ESPN, ESPN]

Norway will double the remuneration for its female soccer players to even the field when it comes to compensation for its players regardless of gender. [Reuters]

Big Number

Western Michigan beat Buffalo on Saturday 71-68. The first quarter finished 10-14, Buffalo, then went to 17-14 at the half, 24-14 at the end of the third, and finally 31-31 at the end of the fourth. This, dear readers, this is where the trouble started. The first overtime ended with each team getting a touchdown apiece, 38-38. The second overtime went about the same, finishing 45-45. The third overtime was scoreless; the fourth overtime each team got a touchdown and two-point conversion, 53-53. The fifth overtime and sixth overtime both had each team get a touchdown and miss the two-point conversion, making it 59-59 and then 65-65. But the seventh overtime! That’s when this business was finally settled: Western Michigan responded to a Buffalo field goal with a touchdown, ending the unholy event and tying the FBS record for most overtimes. [ESPN, h/t Holly Anderson]

Leaks from Slack

rob:

scoring is crazy so far this postseason. The regular season average was 9.3 runs per game for both teams. So far we’ve had 12, 19, and now at least 6. And it’s usually harder to score runs in the postseason.

(As of this morning: Teams are averaging 5.21 runs per game in the 2017 postseason, versus 4.65 per game in the regular season)

Predictions

Oh, and don’t forget