Sports this 'n' that

 YouTube star Logan Paul, with just three wrestling matches under his belt, has made a strong case for consideration for Rookie of The Year honors from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Like Pat McAfee before him, Paul has prepared by listening to his coaches, and then, despite losing to Roman Reigns Saturday at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, proves he can hang with the WWE's best.

Unfortunately, the loss came with a price.

Paul acknowledged on social media after the event that he had injured his meniscus, ACL, & MCL, and if the ACL in particular is torn, he can forget about being at the Royal Rumble in January. Recovery time for an ACL injury is usually about nine months, so there's a better chance of Paul returning to WWE next summer.

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A few years ago, when LSU was a legitimate contender in the SouthEastern Conference (SEC), they had their annual game vs. Alabama billed by television as the "Game of The Century" in consecutive years.

After a few down years, LSU had a legitimate game of the year candidate Saturday in knocking off the Crimson Tide in overtime, handing Nick Saban's club their 2nd loss this season, and possibly locking Alabama out of the College Football Playoff. If there's any shenanigans allowing the Tide into the playoff this season, some will call out Saban and his endorsement deal with AFLAC, which also employs Jackson State coach Deion Sanders. I chalk it up to politics coming from another source. Disney, parent company of ABC, ESPN, & Fox.

We'll see.

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We wouldn't be too surprised if Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker hangs it up after the Astros won their 2nd World Series Saturday, taking down the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1.

When Baker was hired prior to the 2020 season to replace AJ Hinch (now in Detroit), Baker had said this was going to be the last stop in his managerial career. Then again, Bruce Bochy retired after winning three titles in San Francisco, but was lured out of retirement by the Texas Rangers last month, so who knows? For ex-Tri City Valleycats Jose Altuve (2nd title), Jeremy Pena, Bryan Abreu, and Christian Javier, and the rest of the Astros, this was about vindication, five years after a cheating scandal tainted their first title.

Maybe now, the doubters will finally shut up, even though an obscure MLB rule cropped up earlier in the series when catcher Martin Maldonado was found to have used an Albert Pujols model bat that had been outlawed by MLB after the 2010 season. More like sour grapes coming from somewhere, because it wasn't an issue the rest of the series. Pena, a rookie shortstop, was named Series MVP.