Joyful Take.

The edition of September 26, 2026 Warm, curious, carefully sourced takes on the day's most interesting stories. Translate
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September 26, 2026

Everything Joyful Take published on this date: 23 main stories and 46 related reads.

Science · Main story After a severe Midwest storm, power grids restore from backbone to tap When straight-line winds bring down thousands of power lines, repair crews do not work street by street. They follow an engineered five-tier restoration hierarchy. 4 min read Entertainment · Main story PlayStation Plus Streams PS5 Games Without A Console, But Locks Cloud Access To Premium You no longer need a physical console under your television to stream PlayStation titles. Here is how server rendering works, what the PC app and portable devices support, and where the paywall sits. 5 min read Sports · Main story The Two Numbers in Every AFL Score, and What They Mean Fremantle produced more scoring shots than Brisbane in the 2026 grand final and lost by seven points. The scoreboard that allows it is the fastest way into the whole sport. 5 min read Entertainment · Main story 17 Years After BGT, Shaheen Jafargholi Joins Heated Rivalry The Welsh singer-actor who got a second song on Britain's Got Talent in 2009 now plays Fabian Salah, the hockey-hating musician of Heated Rivalry season 2. Here is his path, his role, and what is still unannounced. 5 min read Sports · Main story Coleman Wong made Hong Kong history, but it began with his sister's lesson Hong Kong's first top-100 player owes his start to a sick sister and a lesson already paid for. Here is who he is, what his many firsts actually mean, and why his ranking number is only half the story. 5 min read Sports · Main story Josh Heupel's Crossbar Throw Won on Timing, Not Arm Strength One throw, a 10-foot bar 25 yards away and $100,000 for charity. The Tennessee coach's College GameDay moment makes more sense once you know what his Oklahoma teammates said about his arm. 5 min read Money and Tech · Main story Four Places an Illinois Lottery Dollar Goes, and Why Schools See About 21 Cents Using the Lottery's fiscal 2025 numbers and the law behind them: how much comes back as prizes, what the corner store keeps, what running the lottery costs, and how much reaches K-12 schools. 5 min read Science · Main story A Nor'easter Blows From the Northeast but Moves Up the Coast The name describes the wind on the beach, not the storm's route. Benjamin Franklin worked that out in 1743, thanks to an eclipse he never got to see. 5 min read Sports · Main story Jeremiah Smith is rewriting Ohio State's receiving records The Buckeyes' No. 4 went from the top of the 2024 recruiting class to the top of the school's record book in a little over two seasons. Here is who he is, what he has done, and the small human details behind the numbers. 5 min read Sports · Main story Two Broncos, Two Busters: Boise State Meets Western Michigan The first Boise State vs. Western Michigan game paired two schools with the same nickname, the same mascot name and the same slow-drive habit. Here is why a September date carried playoff weight. 5 min read Sports · Main story Toledo Football Has a New Coach, but Old Rocket Habits Stay Jason Candle left for UConn and a Maumee native took over. Four games into the 2026 season, the Rockets still look like the Rockets, and the reasons go back to a 1923 press box. 5 min read Sports · Main story Arch Manning earned his own name the slow way at Texas Grandson of Archie, nephew of Peyton and Eli, son of the Manning who never got to play in college. Here is who the Texas quarterback is, how patiently he got here, and why the surname explains less than you think. 6 min read Today · Main story 16 months as health director put Amy Acton on Ohio's ballot The physician Ohio met at the 2 p.m. briefings of 2020 is now the Democratic nominee for governor. Here is where she came from, what she did in that job, and what she says she would do with the next one. 5 min read Sports · Main story Jude Bellingham broke an England record, yet the Bronze Boot surprised him He scored more goals at one tournament than any England player before him, then admitted he had never heard of the award that came with it. Here is who the Real Madrid midfielder is, from a retired shirt at 17 to Mourinho's Madrid. 5 min read Sports · Main story Jadan Baugh turned a surprise start into Florida's Heisman case Florida's junior running back went from a game-day fill-in to the Gators' first 1,000-yard rusher in a decade. Here is who he is, how he runs, and why he stayed. 5 min read Sports · Main story 138 Schools Play NCAA FBS Football. Here Is What the Label Means FBS is the top tier of college football, but the rules for joining it changed more in the last three years than in the previous thirty. Here is the 2026 version, with the numbers checked. 5 min read Entertainment · Main story Twitch's Pokémon Badges: Pichu Is Free, but the Starters Take Nine Days Pichu costs twenty minutes on three days. Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle open one at a time, which is the detail that decides whether you finish the set. 5 min read Sports · Main story Georgia Southern football restarted with one K-Mart football How a college with no team, no pads and no practice field became a six-time national champion, and why its plain helmets and $1 school buses still tell that story. 5 min read Sports · Main story Seven Majors and a Sore Wrist: Carlos Alcaraz's 2026 So Far A career Grand Slam in February, a wrist that cost him Roland Garros and Wimbledon, a 3:33 a.m. exit in New York and a match point saved with a drop shot in London. 6 min read Sports · Main story BKFC is bare knuckle, but the rulebook is thoroughly modern Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship sells 1889. What it actually runs is a commission-regulated, punches-only sport with wrap limits measured to the inch, a round ring and a six-round cap. 5 min read Sports · Main story Georgia and Oklahoma have met twice, eight years apart Two programs with more than 900 wins apiece have shared a field only twice. Here is how the series began in Pasadena, stalled on paper, and finally reached Athens, plus when it heads to Norman. 5 min read Sports · Main story 148 of 162 Phillies games aired on local TV in 2026 Most nights the Phillies live on NBC Sports Philadelphia. Here is why a handful of games jump to FOX, ESPN, NBC, Apple TV or Netflix, and how to stream either kind. 5 min read Money and Tech · Main story The U.S. dollar's reserve share slips, yet it is in 89% of FX trades Central banks hold a smaller slice of their savings in dollars than they did in 2001. Traders use it as much as ever. Here is why both numbers are true, and what actually moves the dollar from week to week. 6 min read Science · Related read Trace how Doppler radar catches a derecho's hidden rear-inflow jet When a squall line bulges into an arched bow echo on radar, meteorologists watch the dry slot behind the apex to measure the descending jet driving destructive winds. 3 min read Science · Related read Why can't your electric utility fix a storm-damaged weatherhead on your roof? If high winds rip the electrical pipe and cap off your siding, the power company cannot touch it. Here is how the legal demarcation line works. 3 min read Entertainment · Related read A Practical Guide To PlayStation Plus Cloud Saves, Catalog Exits, And Offline Game Sync When a game leaves the PlayStation Plus catalog, you lose the ability to boot the software, but your hard-earned save data remains completely safe. Here is how Sony handles cloud storage and license transitions. 3 min read Entertainment · Related read Remote Play Versus PlayStation Cloud Streaming: Hardware, Speed, And Latency Compared One pipeline turns your own living room console into a private broadcast station for free, while the other renders games on remote server blades for a monthly fee. Here is how the two technologies differ. 3 min read Sports · Related read Norm Smith Medal Votes Ignore the Final Scoreboard Five judges, three votes each, and no instruction to pick a winner. That is how a Fremantle player walked off with the 2026 best-on-ground award after losing by seven points. 3 min read Sports · Related read Inside AFL Grand Final Day, From Parade to Premiership Cup A whole state takes a public holiday for a parade, the gates open six hours before the first bounce, and half-time belongs to children and a footrace. 4 min read Food and Home · Related read Before Season 2, Meet Ryan and Fabian of Tough Guy Heated Rivalry's new couple are the leads of their own 2020 novel. Where Tough Guy sits in Rachel Reid's hockey series, what the book sets up, and what to read before spring 2027. 3 min read Money and Tech · Related read Trace How Heated Rivalry Crossed From Crave to HBO Max It sits beside HBO's own dramas, but Heated Rivalry is a Canadian Crave original that HBO Max licenses. Who makes the calls, how the deal came together, and what it means for season 2. 3 min read Money and Tech · Related read Challenger title vs. ATP 250 semifinal: the points in Coleman Wong's climb Wong's historic Challenger title earned 75 points, while one ATP 250 semifinal earned 100. Here is how the two ladders compare round by round, and why players still need both. 3 min read Today · Related read A field guide to Hong Kong tennis, from Patricia Hy to Coleman Wong Hong Kong's tennis story starts in 1909 and runs through a 1983 Wimbledon title, a lost tournament and a park court. Here is the map, and how to read the city's many 'firsts' without mixing them up. 4 min read Money and Tech · Related read Inside Pat McAfee's GameDay Kicking Contest and Its Rules A raffle ticket, a 33-yard kick and one attempt. The official rules are short, the on-air prizes are not, and the coaches' crossbar throws are a different game entirely. 3 min read Today · Related read The Locker Note That Sums Up Josh Heupel's Playing Career Three colleges in four years, a torn ACL, a Heisman lost by 76 points and a national title won 25 days later. The Tennessee coach's quarterback years, in order. 3 min read Money and Tech · Related read After an Illinois Lottery Win, a 60-Day Clock Decides Lump Sum or Annuity You have a year to claim most Illinois Lottery prizes. The choice between a lump sum and an annuity expires much sooner, and the rules on taxes and privacy land in the same weeks. 4 min read Money and Tech · Related read Meet the $5 Bingo Scratch-Off That Funds 10 Illinois Causes at Once Illinois once printed a separate charity scratch-off for every cause. Now one $5 bingo ticket splits its profits equally among ten, and the switch raised more money than any year before it. 3 min read Science · Related read Bomb Cyclone vs. Nor'easter: A Speed Versus a Place One word tells you where a storm lives, the other how fast it got strong. The difference comes down to a 1980 paper and a unit named after a Swedish meteorologist. 3 min read Science · Related read A Field Guide to the Word Nor'easter and Its Maine Critics Sailors clipped compass points, New Englanders drop their r's, and one Maine captain mailed postcards to stamp out the apostrophe. Here is who is right. 3 min read Sports · Related read The 56-pound Biletnikoff trophy Jeremiah Smith wants most College football's receiver award has a Tallahassee sculptor, an Oscar foundry and a scholarship fund behind it. Here is how it works, how the 2026 winner gets picked, and why Smith ranks it above the Heisman. 3 min read Sports · Related read Under NFL draft rules, Jeremiah Smith's first chance is 2027 He was good enough for the pros as a freshman, and the NFL still would not have let him in. Here is the three-year rule, how its math lands on Smith, and the Ohio State case that tested it in court. 3 min read Sports · Related read After the Hail Mary, Western Michigan's 13-12 Loss Stands The NCAA admitted a replay mistake changed the outcome of Michigan vs. Western Michigan and still could not touch the score. Two short rules explain why, and one new clock rule came out of it. 3 min read Sports · Related read Follow the Lone Group of Six Playoff Bid Boise and WMU Chase Six conferences share one guaranteed College Football Playoff seat in 2026-27. Here is how it is awarded, which dates matter, and the wording question worth watching. 3 min read Sports · Related read A Field Guide to the Glass Bowl, Toledo's Hand-Dug Stadium Picks, shovels and a ravine in 1936, glass blocks in 1946, a real Army rocket in 1961. Here is what to look for at Toledo's stadium and why it looks like no other. 3 min read Sports · Related read Peace Pipe vs. I-75 Trophy in the Toledo-Bowling Green Rivalry One prize began at a basketball halftime and was later stolen from a student newspaper office. The other was not ready for its own debut. How Toledo and Bowling Green changed trophies, and why the series is tied. 3 min read Sports · Related read Across 75 years, Texas and Tennessee only met in Dallas Before September 26, 2026, the Longhorns and Volunteers had played three times, all on New Year's Day, all in the Cotton Bowl. The middle game has the best twist. 3 min read Sports · Related read The retired No. 18 in a New Orleans gym behind the Mannings Cooper, Peyton, Eli and Arch all played at Isidore Newman School. The one retired jersey in its gym tells you which of them the family still plays for. 3 min read Today · Related read Before November 3: how Ohio elects its next governor One vote picks two people, the incumbent cannot run, and the calendar has a few hard edges. The rules behind Ohio's 2026 governor race, from the constitution to the sticker. 3 min read Today · Related read Meet Amy Acton's bobblehead and the fan club behind it In the spring of 2020 a state health director got a fan club, a nickname, a charity T-shirt and a nodding figurine from a Milwaukee museum. Here is where each one came from and where the money went. 3 min read Sports · Related read Bellingham's No. 5 vs. Zidane's: a tribute that began as an accident Jude Bellingham chose Real Madrid's No. 5 to honour Zinedine Zidane. Zidane, it turns out, got it because the club president disliked big numbers. 3 min read Sports · Related read A field guide to Jude and Jobe Bellingham's two roads to Dortmund Same town, same academy, same German club. The Bellingham brothers still took very different routes, and the detour turned out to be the interesting one. 3 min read Sports · Related read The five-touchdown Florida record Jadan Baugh shares with Tim Tebow Three Gators have run for five touchdowns in one game: a Heisman quarterback, a freshman who scored on every carry, and a running back told that morning he was starting. 3 min read Sports · Related read Inside Florida's 1,000-yard club, where no Gator has repeated Eleven seasons, ten running backs, and not one pair of consecutive 1,000-yard years. The reasons are an injury, a draft rule, a father and son, and a lot of timing. 3 min read Sports · Related read Before 2026, New FBS Schools Sat Out Two Bowl Seasons. Not Anymore Moving up to FBS takes a conference invitation, a $5 million NCAA fee and, until this summer, a two-year wait for the postseason. The wait is gone. The bill is not. 3 min read Sports · Related read Spot Why Division I-A and I-AA Became FBS and FCS in 2006 The top two tiers of college football were renamed because one set of letters stung. The replacement names describe how each tier ended its season, and one of them has aged strangely. 3 min read Entertainment · Related read A Field Guide to Twitch Chat Badges and What Each Icon Means Three slots, 18 pixels, and a surprising amount of etiquette. Here is what each Twitch badge says about the person wearing it. 3 min read Entertainment · Related read Twitch Gift Subs vs. Regular Subs: Who Pays, What Renews For the streamer a gift and a sub are nearly the same thing. For the viewer, renewals, streaks and the Founders badge work very differently. 3 min read Sports · Related read Inside Freedom II's slow road to flying over Paulson Stadium Georgia Southern's new bald eagle survived West Nile virus, was cleared for flight in April 2025 and is still training. Here is why her first flight has no date. 3 min read Sports · Related read The ditch Georgia Southern still calls Beautiful Eagle Creek Erk Russell told his players a gnat-filled drainage ditch held magic water, then carried it to Iowa. The joke outlived him, and it still baptizes new Eagles. 3 min read Sports · Related read Before the Titles: Alcaraz's Family Tennis Club in El Palmar A clay-pigeon range, a grandfather who picked red clay over cheaper hard courts, and a father who ran the club: the three generations behind the Murcia prodigy. 3 min read Sports · Related read Watch the Carlos Alcaraz Drop Shot Through the Numbers He saved a Laver Cup match point with one on September 26, 2026. The tour data shows why the riskiest shot in tennis is one of his safest. 3 min read Sports · Related read Bare knuckle vs. gloved boxing: the rules and injury data The two rulebooks agree on more than you might expect. The injury research is real but narrow, and one detail about who did the counting is worth knowing. 3 min read Sports · Related read Toe the line: a primer on BKFC's round Squared Circle BKFC fights in a round ring with two lines on the canvas. Here is where the lines come from, how they shape a round, and why nobody can prove boxing gave English the phrase. 3 min read Sports · Related read Inside the 2018 Rose Bowl, the first Georgia-Oklahoma game The only Georgia-Oklahoma game before 2026 was a 54-48 double-overtime playoff semifinal. Here is how it swung, and the small details that still echo. 3 min read Sports · Related read The silver britches stripe behind Georgia's Stripe Sanford Georgia's red, white and black stadium stripe copies the stripe on the team's silver pants, a uniform with a surprisingly funny past. 3 min read Sports · Related read After game 162, Phillies playoff games move to national TV The regional channel's season ends with the regular season. Here is who carries each postseason round in 2026, why some Wild Card games are streaming-only, and how the bracket works. 3 min read Sports · Related read Follow 'Dancing on My Own' from a Golden Buzzer to the Phillies A Robyn heartbreak song, a Calum Scott cover and a Tiesto remix reached Philadelphia through an empty Fenway Park. Here is the whole road, including the year the team tried to retire it. 3 min read Money and Tech · Related read Reading the dollar sign in Mexico: a guide for pesos and dollars In Mexico, $ means pesos by default, and the peso has at least as good a claim to the symbol as the dollar does. Here is how to read prices, codes and contracts without doing the wrong math. 3 min read Money and Tech · Related read Spanish dollar vs. U.S. dollar: the coin America copied, then retired For 65 years, Spanish and Mexican silver dollars were legal money in the United States alongside the coin modeled on them. Here is how the two compared, and the habits the older coin left behind. 3 min read