Box Score 10/20: Dwyer, Lindor, Towns and Burfict

Good morning and welcome to the YB Box Score, what we're reading while we wait for Game Five of the WNBA Finals. (Watching the shell of the Bears take on the Packers above this finale is madness.)

Happy birthday to Keith Hernandez and Eddie Jones. In this date in 1943 the Kansas City Monarchs bested the Hilldale Athletic Club in Game 10 of the first Negro League World Series, and in 1963, Jim Brown set the single-season NFL rushing record. 

Around the League:

• Last week Vice told us how the fullback position wasn't dead. This week The Ringer tells us the middle linebacker isn't dead. And according to Roger Goodell, ratings aren't dead. Zombie NFL season, if one had to make a guess. [The Ringer]
• Do you like puns? How about NBA previews? What about NBA previews that are done entirely in puns. [The Sports Fan Journal]
• With his 500th goal safely under his fighting strap, the debate has begun again over Marian Hossa's Hall of Fame worthiness. [Puck Daddy]
• And on the NWHL side, the Times has a profile of Harrison Browne of the Buffalo Beauts, the first transgender athlete on a professional sports team in the US. [NYT]

YB ICYMI:

"The NFL has a problem with incorrigible people and Burfict is the poster child. The fact that it fined Burfict $75,000 is meaningful, but not when considering the context of the already issued penalties. The NFL needs to have harsher penalties when it comes to repeat offenders, especially given the suggestion that the league cares about players' safety." - How does the NFL solve a problem like Vontaze Burfict?

"Minnesota Timberwolves. Shouts to Tom Thibodeau and Karl-Anthony Towns. The Wolves have a great young core and remind me of the Oklahoma City Thunder as they were coming up with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. But, becoming a contender in the West takes time, and I'm not entirely sure this team will be even close to competing for a playoff spot this season." - Overrated *clap* *clap* *clap* Overrated in the NBA *clap* *clap* *clap*

"What do you think MLS still needs in order to compete with all of the world's leagues? No salary cap. I guess freer rosters, no max number of international spots, so (unlimited amount of) players from around the world can come in." - Sporting KC's Dom Dwyer on the MLS' 20th season, fans and his famous family

"And although pounding flank steak until it's a quarter-inch thick is a bit of an annoying hassle unless you happen to be a Michigan State fan looking for something to take your frustration out on, it doesn't take much time either. " - TailGreater: Beers and bourbon in Baton Rouge

"Looking back, there are some do-overs that seem to be in play. Some teams just don't fit for geographic or competitive purposes. Many of those moves were made to get a bigger footprint, so the geography is going to be out of whack and the power of the programs were seemingly not looked at as deeply. So let's take a look at some of the conference's moves that, if we could just go back in time, we wish never happened." - Conference expansion mistakes over the past 15 years

When dreams come true: