Kadarius Toney puts together lowlight reel for the Kansas City Chiefs

I think Patrick Mahomes can do anything with anyone looked stubborn last night.

That gets to the point:

The whole game changed on that one play, and if it wasn’t that one:

Kansas City had survived a first right hook from the Lions and had a touchdown lead and the ball early in the second half when Kadarius Toney decided to throw a ball to Brian Branch. KC was only one behind when Toney forgot how his arms worked, and that was it. There’s no need to exaggerate this, as the Chiefs held the Lions to under four yards per carry and to 21 points and their best defensive player was at home awaiting his check. Toney catches one of those passes and KC almost certainly wins.

From here, however, we know what happens next. Kansas City may still have a difficult game or two in the first few games, as the defending champs generally get a little bored in September and October and try to recalibrate what they have based on the previous season’s losses. Andy Reid will be holding a testy press conference somewhere there while Mahomes will be reassuring everyone that everything is fine. And then the receivers get bigger and with more reps more comfortableAnd Travis Kelce will be back. By December it will look the same as it has for the last five years. Did you see that movie.

That’s probably why it’s best to enjoy it today. Although it will make for some obnoxious Detroiters over the next few weeks while they ignore that the Red Wings are going to suck again.

Fossil fuel protesters delay Gauff-Muchova semi-finals

The women’s semi-final had just about everything on Thursday evening. The first duel between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova was rounded off Thanks to some environmental protesters, the event was delayed by almost an hour. This was highlighted by one of them having his feet stuck to the concrete floor of Arthur Ashe. What…ouch?

Protesting isn’t about doing it where it’s convenient, and these four will certainly have attracted quite a bit of attention. How much does this contribute to solving climate change? MOre controversial, but A for effort.

Coco Gauff continues her run

As for the actual fight, Gauff continued her run over the usually pretty crafty Muchova in straight sets. She had to use a little more variety than in previous rounds, where she had basically pushed her opponents off the court, using a fairly twisting/spinning forehand to keep Muchova off balance. Thanks to this set of tools, Gauff has played the best tennis of her career so far.

It won’t be an All-American final, however, as Aryna Sabalenka proved in the second semifinal that she is the No. The world No. 1 she will achieve after the end of this tournament is about much more than just playing brilliant tennis by defeating herself and Madison Keys. Sabalenka was reduced to pulp by Keys in the first set, losing 6-0 as Keys couldn’t miss and Sabalenka couldn’t hit a bull in the ass with a snow shovel. Sabalenka made 12 unforced errors in that first set while Keys hit 12 winners, essentially making a bagel. Keys’ forehand was an ominous device.

Unfortunately, Keys will stay up all night and probably a few more, as she served in the second round at 5-3 for the game and a return to the final and lost it like love. Sabalenka wasn’t brilliant in the second set until the tiebreak (7-1), but collected enough wins to become No. 1. 1 means knowing how to stay there just long enough and close enough, even if you can’t find your game, to take advantage of your opportunities. It’s the definition of grinding that Sabalenka did.

The third set was a showcase of the power tennis of both as there is little subtlety in either player’s play when it is their turn. Sabalenka was broken early in the set, but came back and again in the tiebreak. she was immobile (10-4). She even overcame it thinking she had won on the normal 7:

It is Sabalenka’s second Grand Slam final of the year and she has made it to the semifinals on all four occasions. She demonstrated why that is by simply turning it off because so many things weren’t working, giving Keys a hard lesson about what the top of the game looks like.

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