Aaron Judge can't stop homering; Georgia Tech shocks Florida State

Judge is just the fifth player with three 50-home run seasons

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⚾ Good morning to everyone, but especially to ...

AARON JUDGE

All rise! ... Again and again and again. Aaron Judge hit his 50th and 51st home runs of the season on Sunday to reach 50 for the third time in his esteemed career, along with 2017 and 2022.

• Judge is just the fifth player in MLB history to hit 50 dingers in three different seasons, joining Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa (four each) and Alex Rodriguez (three).
  
• Judge has seven home runs in his last six games, turning the dog days of summer into Judgment Days for opposing pitchers.

With Judge running hot alongside Juan Soto, the Yankees have won four of five and own the best record in the AL. But they don't own the best record in MLB, and they also don't own the top spot in Matt Snyder's MLB Power Rankings.

1. Dodgers (previous: 2)
2. Yankees (3)
3. Phillies (1)
4. Brewers (5)
5. Orioles (4)

Elsewhere around MLB ...

• Shohei Ohtani joined the 40-home run, 40-stolen bases club with a walk-off grand slam. Then, he threw off a mound for the first time since his elbow surgery. (No, he won't pitch this season.)
• Fernando Tatis (leg) anticipates a return to action next month.
• Bowden Francis came up three outs short of a no-hitter.
• Paul Blackburn (hand) hit the IL.
• The White Sox reached 100 losses and remain on pace for the worst season in MLB history.

👍 Honorable mentions

• Nikola Jokic self alley-oop!!!
• A'ja Wilson at the buzzer!!! Jack Maloney has the inside story on the play. Angel Reese, meanwhile, made more history in the loss.
• The Bears beefed up their defensive line with trades for pass rusher Darrell Taylor and defensive tackle Chris Williams.
• Christian Pulisic scored for AC Milan and is excited by the potential Mauricio Pochettino hire. We also have USMNT stock watch and striker power rankings.
• LsSean McCoy will enter the Eagles Hall of Fame.
• Keegan Bradley won the BMW Championship.
• Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay and Sahith Theegala qualified for the Presidents Cup team.
• Lydia Ko followed up her Olympic gold by winning the Women's Open with a birdie on the 72nd hole.
• Five-star 2025 linebacker Jonah Williams committed to Texas.
• Duke flipped four-star 2025 defensive lineman Bryce Davis from Clemson, the Blue Devils' highest-ranked recruit in the modern era.
• Could the spring transfer portal be a thing of the past? There are legal challenges, but coaches are in favor.
• Harrison Burton won a wild Coke Zero Sugar 400.
• Lake Mary Florida won the Little League World Series.

🏈 And not such a good morning for ...

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THE FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES

The first big upset of the 2024 college football season happened in ... the first game of the 2024 college football season. Georgia Tech upended reigning ACC champion and 10th-ranked Florida State, 24-21, in Dublin on Aidan Birr's 44-yard field goal as time expired.

• The Yellow Jackets' victory ends a 15-game losing streak against top-10 teams, one that stretched back to a 2015 and another defeat of the Seminoles.
• Georgia Tech churned out 190 yards rushing on 5.3 yards a pop and didn't allow a sack against a ballyhooed Florida State defensive line. Jamal Haynes had 75 yards on just 11 carries and he scored twice.
  
• Meanwhile, Florida State managed just 98 yards on 31 carries, and in DJ Uiagalelei's FSU debut, the Seminoles' longest passing play was just 21 yards. The Seminoles had at least one pass longer than that in all but one game last season.

Before you yell at me about not talking about the winners, let's talk about them. Brent Key has done a marvelous job with the Yellow Jackets. They've won 10 games outright as underdogs since the start of 2022. Saturday, Haynes King kept things on track and didn't throw an interception after having 16 last year. While his stats won't blow anyone away, his play epitomized Georgia Tech as a whole: solid, disciplined and opportunistic when needed.

OK, now let's talk about Florida State. The Seminoles lost a ton from last year's team, but they also brought in a ton in the transfer portal, with Uiagalelei the most important. And much like Georgia Tech was a reflection of King, Florida State was a reflection of Uiagalelei: underwhelming. Same for big-name transfers at running back and wide receiver and on defense. The portal can fix a lot of things, but it can't fix everything, Shehan Jeyarajah writes.

Florida State rightly had qualms about not making the playoff last year, and it spent all summer talking about wanting to leave the ACC. Now, with a chance to get revenge by getting into the 12-team playoff, the Seminoles are already in a big hole, Will Backus notes.

• Backus: "Florida State can't afford another slip-up on a slate that seems to be filled with pitfalls. And if Saturday is any indication, this doesn't look like a team that's built to win 11 straight games. ... Of course, it's never wise to make blanket statements after one game -- especially a Week 0 game. Plenty of teams have taken a disastrous start and turned it into a strong late-season run to college football's postseason. ... It's going to be a steep climb to get anywhere near the top, though."

👎 Not so honorable mentions

• Michigan received its NCAA notice of allegations. It largely matches the draft from early August, which includes a possible suspension for Sherrone Morre.
• Several Chargers players got stuck in an elevator at their hotel.
• The NFL suspended Zay Jones and Alaric Jackson.
• Umpire Nick Mahrley was carted off after getting hit in the neck by a part of Giancarlo Stanton's broken bat.
• NFL cuts and injuries are rolling in.

🏈 NFL roundup: DaRon Bland injured, updates on Steelers', Patriots' QB battles

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The next time the NFL is on, the games will actually count. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, DaRon Bland won't be there at the start ... or for a while after that. The All-Pro cornerback suffered a stress fracture in his foot at practice. He'll miss six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery.

• Bland, 25, led the NFL with nine interceptions and set an NFL record with five pick sixes last year. He and Trevon Diggs, who is coming back from a torn ACL, were expected to form one of the league's top cornerback tandems, but now we'll have to wait for that to play out.
• As Garrett Podell notes, Dallas could bring in outside help, but for now Jerry Jones says he's not looking to do so and he likes fifth-round pick Caelen Carson.
• Jones also has no update on CeeDee Lamb.

Meanwhile, the Steelers are one of two teams that hasn't declared its Week 1 starting quarterback, but the finish line is in sight. Russell Wilson started preseason Week 3 and led a touchdown drive on his only series. Justin Fields then entered and led a touchdown drive as well, though he didn't fare as well thereafter. Mike Tomlin says an announcement is coming this week. Tyler Sullivan assessed where things stand now.

The Patriots' quarterback battle, meanwhile, may have taken a twist. Jacoby Brissett hurt his throwing shoulder while getting sacked Sunday night, and Drake Maye came in and threw a touchdown pass. We'll see how both factors impact things there.

Ravens offensive line coach Joe D'Alessandris dies

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Ravens offensive line coach Joe D'Alessandris died Sunday after a brief battle with an acute illness. He was 70 years old.

• Earlier this month, the Ravens said D'Alessandris had been hospitalized with the illness and would miss significant time.
• D'Alessandris had been with the Ravens since 2017 and coached offensive lines for more than four decades, spending time with the Chiefs, Bills and Chargers as well as Duke and Pittsburgh.
  
• George Warhop, who was brought in while D'Alessandris was hospitalized, will take over as full-time offensive line coach. He, too, is a long-time coach who last served as the Texans' offensive line coach in 2022.

"'Joe D.' was a rock, a great coach and a better person," general manager Eric DeCosta said in part of his statement. "He cared about the team deeply, exhibiting a relentless passion to excel while displaying genuine love for his players."

📺 What we're watching Monday

🎾 US Open, 12 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Royals at Guardians, 1:10 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Astros at Phillies, 6:40 p.m. on FS1
🏀 Fever at Dream, 7 p.m. on NBA TV
⚾ Blue Jays at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Rays at Mariners, 9:40 p.m. on FS1
🏀 Liberty at Sun, 10 p.m. on NBA TV