Box Score 10/25: Lester, LeBron and Elton John

Welcome to the YB Box Score, what we're reading while we wait for the World Series and NBA to start tonight. Wait, what? We're going to need another TV in here.

Happy birthday to Bobby Knight, Dave Cowens, Larry Thomas and Frank Middleton. On this date in 1990 Evander Holyfield defeated Buster Douglas for his third heavyweight title.

Around the league: 

• The Undefeated has a conversation with players who make up the minority of the NBA, white American dudes. [The Undefeated]
• Nebraska Regent Hal Daub was not happy about some of the football players taking a knee during the national anthem in September and demanded to know if they were on scholarships according to emails obtained by SB Nation. [SB Nation]
• Canadian Woman's National team goalie Shannon Szabados was cut from the Peoria Riverman team just two days after her first start for the SPHL club. Szabados has played in the league since 2014. [Puck Drunk Love]
• Mike Francesa doesn't quite know what to make about breast pumping areas in Yankee Stadium. [Deadspin]

YB ICYMI:

"San Francisco has now lost six consecutive games by a combined 103 points. During that very same span, San Francisco is yielding over 210 rushing yards and 36.5 points per game. One has to wonder just how hard Jim Harbaugh is laughing as he's leading his Michigan Wolverines to a top-two overall ranking this season." - Good, bad, and ugly from Week 7

 "It is well noted Jon Lester’s struggles with keeping runners honest, so the highly proficient Indians (81% team stolen base success rate) could be a virtual nightmare matchup. And Lester is not alone in his struggles against active running teams. 23-of-26 base stealers were successful against Jake Arrieta as well. So basically, if the Indians play their game, they could very easily impose their will to a much greater degree than any other team has against the Cubs all season." - Three reasons why the Cleveland Indians could win (or lose) the World Series

"SMU soundly beat the then-11th-ranked Houston Cougars by a margin of 22 points, and now the press is hounding Houston and for good reason. The media created a superstar team in Houston after a 5-0 start, and pain was the price that the Cougars paid. Now it seems to me, Houston's postseason and New Year's Day bowl hopes lived like a candle in the wind." - Week 8 in college football as explained by Elton John

"All calls of destiny aside, what is likely to be the toughest – and most prepared – challenge awaits them in the Fall Classic. The Cleveland Indians have been baseball’s most efficient team this postseason, losing only one game along the way to the Series. The Cubs have had to fight to hold on to their position, and have had to overcome a mixture of internal issues (a .222 team playoff batting average) and external foes (defeating both Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner along the way)." - Three reasons why the Cubs will win (or lose) the World Series

"Also, super teams are the reason why you, Ms. or Mr. Casual Fan, watched the games last year. Golden State wasn’t some random team that won 73 games but a machine with the best perimeter shooting guard tandem ever. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers were a clunky, but eventually effective, version of Voltron, with LeBron James chasing ghosts of past champions. And it’s not like we haven’t watched a lot of KD over the years in Oklahoma City when he and Russell Westbrook (more on him later) were carrying the Thunder into relevance." - 10 questions on the NBA season you were afraid to ask

Excited for basketball, Pops?