Yankees ace Gerrit Cole breaks through for Cy Young; Draymond Green suspended; QB Power Rankings

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🏆 Good morning to everyone but especially … USATSI

GERRIT COLE AND BLAKE SNELL

For all the strikeouts, the dominance, the headlines and the accolades, Gerrit Cole had never won a Cy Young award … until now. The Yankees righty took home pitching’s most coveted award in the AL, and he did it in unanimous fashion.

Over in the NL, Blake Snell joined some exclusive company with his own Cy Young award. Also a Cy Young winner in 2018 with the Rays, Snell is just the seventh player to win the award in both leagues.

MVP awards will be announced tonight.

👍 Honorable mentions 😖 And not such a good morning for … Getty Images

DESHAUN WATSON AND THE CLEVELAND BROWNS

The Browns have a historically good defense and are coming off a game in which their $230-million quarterback finally delivered. Times were good in Cleveland. And then times stopped being good. Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of the season due to a shoulder fracture that requires surgery.

The Browns will move forward with rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson as their starter. Thompson-Robinson, who you can get to know here, has one career start: He threw three interceptions and took four sacks in a 28-3 loss to Baltimore. The Browns have also used P.J. Walker at quarterback, though he ranks last in completion percentage, touchdown-to-interception ratio and passer rating among 38 quarterbacks with at least 75 pass attempts.

This makes me think of Tom Moore, who, when asked why he didn’t give more reps to Peyton Manning’s backups in Indianapolis, responded,”Fellas, if ’18’ goes down, we’re f—ed. And we don’t practice f—ed.” The Browns have an elite defense that might help them survive. But Thompson-Robinson and Walker don’t exactly inspire confidence, and neither do potential outside options, especially after the trade deadline has passed, notes John Breech.

Watson’s arrival was supposed to halt Cleveland’s decades-long revolving door at quarterback. So far, though, he has failed to do so, and a Browns season with real promise just days ago has lost all momentum.

👎 Not so honorable mentions 🏀 Draymond Green suspended five games after headlock Getty Images

The first huge fight of the NBA season, somewhat unsurprisingly, involved Draymond Green. Now, he and the Warriors are paying for it. Green was suspended five games for “escalating an on-court altercation and forcefully grabbing Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert around the neck in an unsportsmanlike and dangerous manner.” If you somehow missed it, here’s every angle of the incident.

Green will miss games against the Thunder (twice), Rockets, Suns and Spurs. Golden State, loser of four straight, is 6-6 on the season.

🏈 New No. 1s in weekly QB Power Rankings Getty Images

If you haven’t picked up on it over the last few newsletters, I could not be more impressed with C.J. Stroud. I know I’m far from alone, though, and Cody Benjamin’s latest NFL QB Power Rankings is the latest example. He has Stroud No. 1:

Power Rankings, as Cody mentions, are “focused more on current standing than the bigger picture,” and my goodness has Stroud been good lately: 826 yards passing and six touchdowns over his last two games. No other rookie has done that in a two-game span since the merger. Yeah, pretty good. Here’s the top five:

There’s also a new top dog — err, Tiger — in Tom Fornelli’s College Football QB Power Rankings.

You know you’re doing something right when you go for 417 yards and four touchdowns and move down. The Daniels vs. Nix (and maybe someone else?) Heisman Trophy race is going to be fascinating.

📺 What we’re watching Thursday

🏀 No. 20 Maryland at No. 8 UConn, 6:30 p.m. on FS1🏈 Boston College at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. on ESPN🏀 Nets at Heat, 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV🏈 Bengals at Ravens, 8:15 p.m. Prime Video⚽ USMNT vs. Trinidad and Tobago, 9 p.m. on TNT🏀 Thunder at Warriors, 10 p.m. on NBA TV