Five sports leagues, international politics, and a remote control that may require arbitration.
The Riff. October 26, 2026
Today is the sports equinox.
For those unfamiliar with this rare celestial event, it’s the day when all four major American sports leagues have games scheduled. The NFL, NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball are all playing on the same day.
And this year, the WNBA has decided to join the party.
Five leagues. One Monday.
The planets have aligned. The stars are in position. Somewhere, a man with four televisions is explaining to his wife why the dining room is no longer available.
I don’t know who first decided to call this a sports equinox, but I admire the ambition. An actual equinox involves the Earth’s relationship with the sun. This one involves a guy in sweatpants eating chicken wings while trying to remember his Peacock password.
Both are apparently significant astronomical events.
But the sporting world isn’t the only place where everything seems to be happening at once.
International politics has its own scoreboard, complete with winners, losers, disputed calls, and people who would very much like to speak to the officials.
Everybody’s playing. Everybody’s keeping score. And absolutely nobody agrees on the rules.
And then there’s the gambling.
I could lose money in four different sports before bedtime.
That’s not a gambling problem.
That’s diversification.
Read the full Riff, including today’s Don’t Pick What I Pick selections, on Substack:
https://benzojones.substack.com/p/everybodys-playing-nobody-agrees
