What an absolutely PACKED DAY in the world of sports. I mean, Saturday’s are usually pretty busy, but holy cow. Good thing you all subscribe to the Daily Stump, and we took some time to organize the sports world for you. I think today’s a great day to send this to a friend, maybe two, perhaps three. Whatever, whoever. Don’t be selfish, share the Stump.

We keep the feedback form active, so don’t be afraid to let us know what you think

Today’s Trivia🧠

(answer at the bottom of the Stump)

On This Day…

⚽️ On this day in 2020, Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi scores his 644th goal as a member of FC Barcelona during the club’s 3-0 win over Real Valladolid.

With that goal, he broke Pele’s record for most goals for one club in a career, which he set with Santos from 1956-74. Messi’s played 520 games for the club from 2004-21, and has since played for PSG and now Inter Miami.

Today’s Stump Story…

🏈 Penn State Volleyball is Playing with Purpose

There are times in sports when one team just looks destined to win, and that might be the case for Penn State women’s volleyball.

Penn State will go for their program’s first national championship since 2014 when they face off against Louisville this afternoon. This comes after a miraculous reverse sweep in the national semifinals against the No. 2 overall seed Nebraska. What was the source of inspiration for that comeback? Their head coach.

Penn State head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley is a Nittany Lion lifer. She helped the team win a national championship in 1999, she was named the associate head coach in 2018, and eventually took over as head coach in 2022. Going into her third year in charge of the program she had grand ideas. A September cancer diagnosis with stage 2 breast cancer could’ve changed everything this year for her. Except it didn’t.

She never missed a practice. Never missed a game. At the same time, she never missed a doctors appointment and never missed a treatment. Schumacher-Cawley has shared very few details about her surreal season, but it’s clear that her players have looked to her for inspiration.

After falling behind 2-0 in the first two sets to Nebraska in the national semifinals, coach Schumacher-Cawley brought her team into a huddle. Her calm, confident, speech changed it all. The Nittany Lions came out with a new purpose, a new intensity. They won the next set, then came back in the fourth set after being down to match point twice, eventually winning the third set. Never giving up. Never backing down.

What was it? Maybe it was the speech. But that type of comeback isn’t built by one speech. It’s built in the season-long battle by coach and the players, it’s built by enforcing a no-phone policy so the players can be in the moment, it’s built by believing in this season’s mantra: “Bigger than us.” It takes a special sort of belief to come back from the brink of defeat.

Whether Penn State wins today or not, it’s hard not to believe that every single person involved with that program is not a better person today than they were 3 months ago. They are stronger for what they’ve been through, more impassioned and understanding, and more in the moment than ever before. Win or lose, coach Schumacher-Cawley is a champion.

Quick Hitters

🏈 College Football Playoff: SMU @ Penn State: Another snoozer. SMU just really didn’t look up to the task as Penn State’s defense ruled the day. Two pick-sixes and a first half shutout by Penn State was enough for them to just sit on the ball in the second half and just run the ball. The Penn State offense still remains a question mark, but they advance to take on Boise State. Clemson @ Texas: Quinn Ewers gets his revenge from high school. Texas looked good on both offense and defense, and the running game was key to Texas’s success. Jaydon Blue looked like a dude running the ball, and his 77-yard touchdown run squashed Clemson’s comeback dreams. Texas 38, Clemson 24. Tennessee @ Ohio State: A do-or-die game for Ryan Day as the leader of the Buckeyes in many ways, his team was up to the task. Ohio State led the whole game and outmuscled, out-finessed, and out played Tennessee in just about every facet of the game. The Bucks move on for a rummer match with Oregon, but this time at a neutral site. Bucks 42, Tennessee 17.

🥹 The most exciting player to ever step on a baseball diamond, Rickey Henderson, passed away yesterday at the age of 65. Henderson had blazing speed to go long with an incredible eye for the ball and impressive power played with unreal swagger and confidence. Henderson was a first-ballot hall of famer, and redefined the role of a leadoff hitter. He is most remembered as a member of the Oakland Athletics, his hometown club, and the New York Yankees.

🏈 NFL Saturday: A very entertaining game in Kansas City yesterday, as both the Chiefs and Texans were able to make big plays to keep the game close. Two CJ Stroud interceptions were the difference in the game, as a short field for the Chiefs twice in the first half accounted for 10 points. Chiefs 27, Texans 19. Lamar Jackson finally got the monkey off of his back. The Ravens took care of business in a BIG AFC North matchup. The Steelers made it close coming out of half time, but then it was all Ravens from that point forward. A Marlon Humphrey pick 6 helped seal the deal. Ravens 34, Steelers 17.

🥊 Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2: This was absolutely worth the price of admission. Boxing at the highest level. Undoubtedly the two best in the world. A back and forth fight that was capped off with a ferocious final round from Tyson Fury, but it was too much to overcome. Usyk was so technically sound, sustained consistently strong rounds, and landed big punches when he had the opportunity. 115-113, Usyk.

🍿 Paige vs JuJu: USC was all over this game early, but a second-half 18-point comeback for UConn gave them the lead late in the second half. A rematch of last year’s elite eight games, the two programs boast the top two players in all of the country in JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers. The game had an absolutely electric finish, with the Huskies at the free-throw line with a chance to tie late. In the end, it was JuJu and USC who were able to get the win on the road, USC 72-70.

Other News:

• 😢 Tank Dell hospitalized with ‘significant’ injury

• 👋 ATL expected to cut Cousins before massive bonus hits

• 🔵 Yanks add Paul Goldschmidt

• 👋 Guardians trade away starting 1B, resign old friend

Top Performers:

• 🏀 Johni Broome (AUB): 23 points, 11 rebounds, ranked W

• 🏈 Derrick Henry (BAL): 162 rushing yards

• 🏈 Jaydon Blue (UT): 177 total yards, 2 TDs

• 🏀 Jayson Tatum (BOS): 43 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists

Stump Favorites

😑 Russ made this pick six too easy

🐮 BEVO. IS. BACK. HORNS UP

🤣 Morgan Wallen must be upset, pls remove all chairs

🤯 Kirk Herbstreit left NO DOUBT

💯 Full Scoreboards: MLB, Soccer, PGA, NFL, WNBA, NCAAF, NHL

Today’s Slate

*All times are ET*

🏈 NFL Sunday: 1:00 PM Slot: Giants @ Falcons, Lions @ Bears, Browns @ Bengals, Titans @ Colts, Rams @ Jets, Eagles @ Commanders, Cardinals @ Panthers ; 4:05 Window: Vikings @ Seahawks, Patriots @ Bills, Jags @ Raiders, Niners @ Dolphins ; SNF: Buccaneers @ Cowboys

🏀 NBA: Rockets @ Raptors (6:00 PM), Pacers @ Kings (6:00 PM), Nuggets @ Pelicans (7:00 PM), full schedule

🏀 NCAAM: Morgan St @ (3) Iowa State (1:00 PM), Kent St @ (6) Alabama (1:00 PM), Brown @ (8) Kansas (3:00 PM on ESPN), full schedule

🏀 NCAAW: Loyola MD @ (3) Notre Dame (12:00 PM), Cincy @ (13) K State, SDSU @ (6) Texas (3:00 PM), Omaha @ (10) Oklahoma (4:00 PM), full schedule

🏒 NHL: Hurricanes @ Rangers (12:30 PM), Panthers @ Lightning (5:00 PM), Kings @ Capitals (5:00 PM), Kraken @ Avs (8:00 PM), Senators @ Oilers (8:00 PM), full schedule

⚽️ EPL: Everton vs Chelsea (9:00 AM), Man U vs Bournemouth (9:00 AM), Tottenham vs Liverpool (11:30 AM) ; LALIGA: Real Madrid vs Sevilla (10:15 AM); Serie A: Atalanta vs Empoli (12:00 PM), full schedule

Trivia Answer:

D. Ohio State Buckeyes. Led by Cardale Jones, Ezekiel Elliot, Joey Bosa, and coached by Urban Meyer, the Bucks won the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship.

Can’t thank you enough for sticking to the end of this thing we call The Daily Stump. If you know anybody who might want this bit of daily sports news in their life, send them this link, it would go a long way. Appreciate the hell out of you all…

Trees get chopped. Stumps hold strong 💪