Box Score 10/27: Embiid, Banks, beer and bowl games

A good morning and welcome to the YB Box Score, what we're reading while crowing about being right about Embiid.

Happy birthday to Patty Sheehan, Vernon Lewis, Brady Quinn and Andrew Bynum. On this date in 1987, the NFL players strike started. Remember when that was going to be the death of the league?

Around the league:

• In 1997 Formula 1 racing couldn't have been more competitive (and controversial) when Jacques Villeneuve took the title. Vice UK looks back at when team rivalries were real. [Vice UK]
• Speaking of racing, four reasons why Jimmie Johnson can win it all again this year. [Fox Sports]
• Does Bill Simmons' new show "Any Given Wednesday" already need a refresh to be saved? [Decider]
• A great long read on a rainy fall day; the story of Maurice Lerner, the minor league prospect who became a hitman for the mob. [NYT]

YB ICYMI:

"We've all been there. Our friend asks us to toss them a beer, and then are disappointed when we simply pass them a cold can of Miller or something without any flair. Well, the wonderful people over at Beverage Ball have solved that problem forever by creating a football that can hold your favorite brew inside as you pass it to a friend." - TailGreater: Lagers, white chicken chili and beverage balls in East Lansing

"Here are the other 'New Year's Six' bowls. All those elite one-loss teams are here (Ohio State, Texas A&M, Louisville) along with the highest ranked Group of 5 team (Boise State). The biggest snub here is West Virginia, who should arguably take either Nebraska's or Wisconsin's spot." - Who's going bowling? Predicting which teams will play in which college football bowls

"What do we know about Freddy Krueger? He's sort of a diva, he gets in people's heads and he never stops with the quips. Oh, and that hand! Freddy would make for a perfect wide receiver. He seems invincible when he's on a roll and in his element, though he struggles when things are going against him. He also has a knack for celebrating his successes. What a diva." - The sports classic horror villains would play

"On Monday, Foley presided over a strange segment in which he kayfabe warned Banks and Charlotte about the dangers of stepping into the cell, while also praising the WWE for ushering in a new era by letting women take part in a match that was once considered too barbaric for them. We could do without WWE patting itself on the back, especially in a way that comes off as patronizing, though even getting this far would have been hard to imagine even a year ago." - Significant firsts for women's wrestling in WWE at 'Hell in a Cell'

Luck anyway you can get it.