Front Row Seat: Vancouver stuns LAFC, setting up Western Conference Final

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San Diego State Aztecs

San Diego State’s defense leads Aztecs to win over defenseless San Jose State - San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego State couldn’t have had much more going for it as Saturday night’s Mountain West game unfolded against San Jose State.

The Spartans were coming off a loss to last-place Nevada in which their defense gave up 55 points. San Jose State’s defensive coordinator was fired two days later.

At least San Jose State still had quarterback Walker Eget, who ranked second in the nation with 301.5 passing yards per game. But Eget left with a knee injury with 2 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter.

That left the Spartans with true freshman quarterback Tama Amisone gamely guiding the offense. Amisone had thrown a total of 14 passes this season when he stepped behind center against the Aztecs. 

SDSU dominates again, finishes season undefeated at home

The Aztecs won another laugher, securing a 25-3 victory over San Jose State

Section 1904John Gennaro

Aztecs jump into the deep water with No. 7 Michigan in Las Vegas - San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher was asked what he saw on film when watching his next opponent, No. 7-ranked Michigan on Monday night in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, with a 7-foot-3 transfer from UCLA, a 6-9 transfer from Illinois, a 6-9 transfer from Alabama-Birmingham who was a projected first-round NBA draft pick, transfer guards from North Carolina, Alabama and Ohio State.

“It looks,” Dutcher said, “like a really good roster that money had a lot to do with getting, you know? They have good NIL, really good NIL. When you have really good NIL, you can put a really talented roster together.”

It almost included another transfer: 7-0 sophomore Magoon Gwath.

San Diego FC

Nine-man Vancouver Whitecaps dump LAFC, Son Heung-min from MLS playoffs in stunner - The Guardian
Defender Mathías Laborda scored a first-half goal before delivering the winner in a penalty-kick shootout and the Vancouver Whitecaps beat Los Angeles FC in a Western Conference semi-final on Saturday night before a club-record crowd of 53,957 at BC Place in Vancouver.

The second-seeded Whitecaps advance to their first Western Conference final after the two clubs played to a 2-2 draw through regulation and 30 minutes of extra time.

Anders Dreyer, San Diego FC plot to take down Minnesota United - Field Level Media
Minnesota will present San Diego with its tactical opposite, an opponent that purposefully concedes possession to deploy vertical counterattacks.

In a setup initially built around the talents of strikers Tani Oluwaseyi and Kelvin Yeboah, Minnesota had more than half of possession time in only five of its 34 regular-season matches. Selling Oluwaseyi to La Liga side Villareal this summer only made the Loons double down on that pattern: They held no more than 41% of the ball in any of their three round one series matches against the Seattle Sounders.

Can San Diego FC win Monday and advance? A look at the questions facing the top-seeded club - San Diego Union-Tribune
Minnesota United has scored a league-best 25 goals off set pieces this season, according to Opta Analyst. That’s nearly 41% of its scoring for the season.

SDFC has scored just 10 goals off set pieces, accounting for 13.89% of its scoring.

That’s by design: Loons coach Eric Ramsay was in charge of set pieces while coaching with global powerhouse Manchester United. The Loons’ situational success has been a great equalizer, which may explain how Minnesota has been able to stay competitive despite selling star Tani Oluwaseyi to Villarreal of Spain’s La Liga and Sang Bin Jeong to St. Louis City.

San Diego FC owner Mansour on early nerves and making MLS expansion history - The Athletic
On the morning that San Diego FC kicked off its inaugural season on February 23 against the LA Galaxy, owner and chairman Sir Mohamed Mansour spoke to his players. The Egyptian-born billionaire was a bit concerned.

Eight weeks prior, when he checked in on the team’s initial roster build, he was told that San Diego had signed just seven players. Fear set in. The anxiety Mansour felt was real.

“Every week I was calling and asking, ‘How many players do we have now?’” he told The Athletic.

Lionel Messi scores goal and sets up three more as Inter Miami beat Cincinnati 4-0 - OneFootball
Messi’s latest heroics helped set an MLS play-off record with 12 goal contributions in a single post-season. 

He is now on course to win his second MVP award, having bagged 29 goals and 16 assists in 28 appearances this season.

San Diego Padres

Padres non-tender Sean Reynolds, Omar Cruz; sign Luis Campusano to one-year deal - San Diego Union-Tribune
The Padres cast relievers Sean Reynolds and Omar Cruz into free agency ahead of Friday’s non-tender deadline and announced a one-year contract for 2026 for catcher Luis Campusano.

The moves leave the Padres with 34 players on their 40-man roster, as the team also tendered contracts to six arbitration-eligible players: right-handers Jason Adam and Mason Miller, left-handers Adrián Morejón and JP Sears, catcher Freddy Fermin and infielder/outfielder Gavin Sheets.

Now Is The Time To Fantasize About Your Loser Club Trading For Tarik Skubal - Defector
There are some truths here that may or may not mitigate ill will toward the Tigers front office: Skubal is newly 29 (happy birthday to Tarik Skubal!); by the time he starts his next contract, he will be 30. Despite his age and injury history, he has won back-to-back AL Cy Young awards, and goes about the sport the right way, i.e. by barely walking batters. He is also a client of Scott Boras, whose clients historically go to free agency rather than signing extensions, to give themselves maximum leverage in negotiations. Whatever the Tigers have offered Skubal for an extension, it wasn't enough to avert an inevitable-seeming free agency outcome.

And thus, as baseball clubs are wont to do, the Tigers are reportedly listening to trade offers on their best player. It's hard to imagine a scenario in which a trade makes sense, in the way few low-spending maneuvers ever make any real sense. As the Tigers and Guardians proved last year, the AL Central looks almost alarmingly winnable. Trading Skubal prior to the season start is tantamount to self-sabotage; planning on trading him before the deadline, at which time the Tigers could very well be winning the division, is equally silly. Of course it would also be silly to let him leave in free agency, which is why a club seeking to win a World Series will open its pockets as far as they'll go.

NFL

Shedeur Sanders shines in win; Browns mum on starting QB - ESPN
In his first NFL start Sunday, Sanders had an impressive showing, completing 11 of 20 passes for 209 yards with one touchdown and an interception in the Browns' 24-10 win over the Raiders.

Sanders, who became the 42nd quarterback to start for the Browns since 1999, also became the first Cleveland quarterback to win his first NFL start since Eric Zeier in 1995. The victory ended a 17-game losing streak for the Browns in games with a quarterback making his first career start. That was the longest streak by any franchise since 1950, when QB starts were first recorded.

The win also snapped a 13-game road losing streak for the Browns, which was the longest active streak in the NFL and their second longest in franchise history.

Raiders fire offensive coordinator Chip Kelly after just 11 games - The Athletic
“I spoke with Chip Kelly earlier this evening and informed him of his release as offensive coordinator of the Raiders,” coach Pete Carroll said in a statement released by the team. “I would like to thank Chip for his service and wish him all the best in the future.”

The Raiders made Kelly the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the league this season, but the Raiders have been dismal on that side of the ball. The loss to the Browns was their fifth straight and clinched their fourth straight losing season and 18th losing season since 2002.

Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs are most dangerous wild cards of all in NFL playoff race - The Athletic
Precious few NFL players have ever finished, competed, loved the game and pursued redeeming excellence in the wake of a mistake with more conviction than Mahomes has over his eight years as a starting quarterback. He entered this season having never missed an AFC Championship Game appearance as a starter, going seven for seven while reaching five Super Bowls and winning three.

And that’s why the failure of Jones and the Indianapolis Colts to put away Mahomes and the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium could have huge ramifications across the league as it barrels toward Thanksgiving Day and the unofficial start of the playoff push. According to The Athletic’s NFL playoff simulator, Mahomes’ ability to overcome a 20-9 fourth-quarter deficit and deliver a 23-20 overtime victory left Kansas City (6-5) with a 64 percent chance to return to the postseason.

As Cowboys rally from 21-point deficit to upset Eagles, Jerry Jones and Co. hope they just saw microcosm of 2025 season - Yahoo Sports
Eagles brass credited a five-man Cowboys front they weren’t expecting, Hurts referring to “how they’re built now given the three interior defenders they have” in explaining the defensive shift. Jones celebrated his deals and his ability to poach Williams after interest in the preseason didn’t materialize into a deal.

But everyone knew: Right now, the 5-5-1 Cowboys have the NFC’s 10th best record in a playoff format that will take just seven of them. More is necessary.

The Cowboys will have an imminent chance to ride this momentum on Thanksgiving Day against the defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs and then a week later, in prime time, against a Detroit Lions team that last season claimed the NFC’s top seed. The most daunting stretch of Dallas’ schedule has arrived. With it, the Cowboys can accurately gauge how much they’ve actually improved.

Formula 1

Verstappen wins in Las Vegas; McLaren handed double disqualification - ESPN
Max Verstappen claimed his second Las Vegas Grand Prix win ahead of championship leader Lando Norris to keep his title chances alive.

Norris took second place, but in a dramatic turn of events was later disqualified by stewards, along with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, for illegal plank wear.

The decision came five hours after the race finished and puts pressure on McLaren's drivers as Verstappen goes level with Piastri on points and Norris' lead is cut to 24 points.

McLaren’s Las Vegas Double DQ Has Blown The F1 Title Race Wide Open - Defector
The double DQ has given Verstappen a real chance at the title, and an even better chance at finishing second in a season that looked to be heading toward a McLaren clean sweep. Let's start with that, actually: Ever since winning in the Netherlands back in August, Piastri, the previous championship leader, has fallen off a cliff performance-wise, and his continued run of disappointment is now compounded by losing those 10 points that, coincidentally, marked his lead over Verstappen prior to the DQ. Now, Piastri and Verstappen are tied for second place with two races remaining, and on pure form, I'd give the edge to Verstappen, who has been on a tear as Piastri's season has fallen apart: Since finishing second in that same race, in his home country, the reigning champion has won four of seven races, finished second but ahead of both McLarens in Singapore, and then third in the two others.

Odds & Ends

Gotham Grabs The Crown Of An NWSL At A Tipping Point - Defector
Multiple Spirit players cried in front of reporters after the match. One was Rodman, who was undoubtedly the main character of championship week. On November 15, The Athletic reported that the soon-to-be free agent had received offers from English clubs that her beloved Spirit couldn’t match due to the NWSL’s salary cap restrictions. Commissioner Jessica Berman has apparently been directly involved with the league’s efforts to keep Rodman stateside.

The USL Championship season is ending – it’s CBA standoff doesn’t seem to be - Backheeled
The USL Championship’s title game on Saturday will be the last on-field battle of the 2025 season. Off the pitch, however, the USL Players Association and the league itself are locked in for a new contest: ongoing negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement.

When the USL and USLPA ratified their first CBA in 2021, it was lauded as a major moment in American lower league soccer. Players won minimum compensation guidelines; clubs and their owners were given a sense of financial clarity. Then-USL president Jake Edwards celebrated the occasion as a step toward being “globally recognized as a player-centric league.”

Now, the league and its players are at an impasse with the CBA set to expire on December 31st. How did we get to this point, and how is the USL model impacting the negotiations?

World Cup Countdown: 42 Teams Locked In. Just Six to Go. - The Ringer
The World Cup next summer will still be decided by the same dozen or so nations that have always dominated. We’ll soon find out the group stage draw and be reminded that only eight countries have ever won the world’s biggest soccer prize. Seven of them have already qualified for the 2026 tournament comfortably. But these past two weeks weren’t about the top of the soccer pyramid; they were about the less established soccer hot spots where joy hasn’t yet been commercialized out of the sport—places where a single goal can still change the trajectory of a nation’s spirit. 

‘Today, soccer was cruel to us’: USD falls in NCAA soccer tournament - San Diego Union-Tribune
Grand Canyon got a controversial goal in the 88th minute from superstar Senegalese freshman Junior Diouf in a classic smash-and-grab victory followed by a heated fracas at midfield between the teams.

The Antelopes, then, advance to their first Sweet 16 next weekend at No. 8 Portland, which prevails in a penalty shootout against Denver later Sunday night. The Toreros, ranked No. 3 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll, see one of the best seasons in school history come to an abrupt, maddening end.

“Today, soccer was cruel to us,” said senior defender Simon Duus Muller, who was involved in the decisive goal, “even though we might have deserved some more.”

Alright, that's going to do it for today's edition of Front Row Seat. I'll be back tomorrow, and every weekday, to try and make it easier for you to follow the news.

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