Sports

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Alabama high school football player who died after suffering game injury is remembered

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama high school football player, who died after being critically injured during a game, was remembered at a Monday memorial service as a caring and talented athlete who accomplished much in his 16 years.

https://apnews.com/article/alabama-high-school-football-player-death-893b220c85045dd64842207b90b402a1?

 

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💔 Heartbreaking: Alabama high school QB Caden Tellier died after suffering a brain injury on Friday night. The 16-year-old was injured on a tackle and flown to a nearby hospital, where he passed away on Saturday. ‌ 🏈 Cowboys extend CeeDee: Dallas signed star WR CeeDee Lamb to a four-year, $136 million extension, ending his holdout. It's the second-largest contract ever for a non-QB, trailing only Justin Jefferson's four-year, $140 million deal. ‌ 🏀 Sue gets a street: The city of Seattle has renamed part of a street leading up to Climate Pledge Arena after Storm legend Sue Bird. The stretch of road, which intersects with "Lenny Wilkens Way," will now be known as "Sue Bird Court." ‌ 🏈 Fanatics vs. the Harrisons: Fanatics has refiled its lawsuit against Cardinals rookie WR Marvin Harrison Jr. to include his Hall of Fame father, who they claim "aided and abetted" his son's fraud.

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⚾️ Stat of the day: Teams were 1,192-0 in the last seven years when up 7+ runs to start the 7th inning. They are now 1,192-1 after the Pirates blew a 10-3 lead and lost 14-10 to the Cubs. ‌ 🏈 No. 1 for Nabers: Giants rookie Malik Nabers will wear No. 1 after getting permission from the family of Ray Flaherty, whose jersey was the first ever retired in pro football (1935). ‌ ⚾️ Ohtani-mania: Fans went wild on Shohei Ohtani (and dog) bobblehead night. His dog, Decoy, then threw out the first pitch and Shohei hit a lead-off home run. ‌ 🏀 New NBA docuseries: "Starting 5" will debut on Netflix in October and follow LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards, Jimmy Butler and Domantas Sabonis during the 2023-24 season.

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🏈 Hunter steals the show: Travis Hunter starred on offense (7 rec, 132 yds, 3 TD) and defense (three tackles, played every snap) in Colorado's 31-26 win over NDSU. More scores from Thursday. ‌ 🏀 Curry signs extension: Stephen Curry has agreed to a one-year, $62.6 million extension (NBA money is wild!) that will keep him with the Warriors through the 2026-27 season. ‌ 🏈 Aiyuk stays put: After months of trade speculation, the 49ers signed Brandon Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million extension that makes him the NFL's sixth-highest paid wideout. ‌ ⚽️ Champions League draw: The new-look group stage is set following Thursday's randomized draw. Here's who each team will be playing between September and January. ‌ 🏈 Brissett beats out Maye: Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo named veteran QB Jacoby Brissett the starter over No. 3 pick Drake Maye.     🎾 U.S. OPEN OUT OF THE DARKNESS, INTO THE LIGHT Botic van de Zandschulp (what a name!) stunned reigning U.S. Open champion Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets on Thursday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Final score: 6-1, 7-5, 6-4. ‌ Historic upset: Alcaraz, who was attempting to join Rafael Nadal (2010) and Rod Laver (1969) as the only men in the Open Era to sweep the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, had -1000 odds to win. That alone make this one of the biggest upsets ever. ‌ Van de Zandschulp (+2500 odds) had never beaten a top-10 player at a major before, and he'd lost both his previous matches to Alcaraz without winning a single set. Since Alcaraz entered the top 10, the lowest-ranked player to beat him at a major was No. 13 Jannik Sinner (2022 Wimbledon). Now it's No. 74 Van de Zandschulp, who wasn't even seeded. But here's what really makes this remarkable... There's a world in which Van de Zandschulp never steps foot on that court last night; a world in which the hero of our story isn't in the story at all. Instead, in this alternate reality, he's retired from the sport he no longer loved, destined to spend his days dreaming about what a night like this might have felt like, while never knowing he was weeks away from feeling it.     Hitting rock bottom: You see, 2024 hasn't been kind to the 28-year-old Dutchman. In fact, he was in such a bad place this summer that he was considering retirement. Here he is in May, following a first-round exit at the French Open (pictured above): ‌ "I don't look forward to competitions at all anymore. I have been asking myself more and more lately whether I want to continue. You have to do work that you enjoy. Everyone has a bad day every now and then. But if there are too many, then you have to ask yourself whether you want to continue." ‌ Three months later... He plays the match of his life on the sport's biggest stage. I have goosebumps just thinking about his goosebumps. "It's been an incredible evening," said Botic. "The crowd was amazing. Thank you for that. Unbelievable night." ‌ And look, this was only the second round. Van de Zandschulp has a lot more winning to do if he wants to contend in New York, starting with tomorrow's match against No. 25 Jack Draper. But not all victories are found in box scores. Sometimes, winning looks more like this: A smiling Botic winking to his corner, finding joy in a game that he was starting to think might never bring him any.  Sports, man...     In less sentimental, far stupider news: A bettor at BetMGM wagered $25K on Alcaraz (-10000), which would have only paid $250 because he was such a massive favorite. Come on, people. Risk/reward!!!

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October is just around the corner, and around that corner is November, which means free agency is drawing ever closer, writes Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz.

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$500 million man: Juan Soto is the best player on the market, and it's not close. He's expected to command north of $500 million after turning down a 15-year, $440 million offer from the Nationals in 2022.

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Our top 10 free agents:

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1. Juan Soto, OF (Yankees)
2. Willy Adames, SS (Brewers)
3. Corbin Burnes, SP (Orioles)
4. Max Fried, SP (Braves)
5. Alex Bregman, 3B (Astros)
6. Blake Snell, SP (Giants)
7. Pete Alonso, 1B (Mets)
8. Anthony Santander, OF (Orioles)
9. Teoscar Hernández, OF (Dodgers)
10. Jurickson Profar, OF (Padres)

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Youth football safety debate is rekindled by the same-day deaths of 2 young players

HEWETT, W.Va. (AP) — Ryan Craddock had seen his share of tragedy during two decades as a coal miner and firefighter.

https://apnews.com/article/football-deaths-safety-3664f801aaa2ca84ebd9338d0279f800?

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📺 ESPN, ABC blacked out on DirecTV

University of Georgia mascot Hairy Dawg before the Saturday afternoon college football game between Georgia and Clemson. Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Disney pulled its networks, including ABC and ESPN, from DirecTV's satellite package on Sunday, amid an ongoing carriage dispute, Axios' Sara Fischer reports. 🏈 Disney's channels went dark just minutes ahead of the highly anticipated college football game between USC and LSU, which was broadcast on ABC. The blackout also comes during the U.S. Open on ESPN, and days ahead of the official NFL season kickoff. ESPN has exclusive rights to NFL games on Monday nights. 🎤 And unless it's resolved quickly, it could prevent DirecTV subscribers from watching the Sept. 10 presidential debate on ABC. Go deeper.

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🎾 1 for the road: "World's healthiest sport"

Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America. But when it comes to fitness, tennis outshines its younger cousin, Axios' Analis Bailey writes. Tennis players sprint across a wider court, swinging at heavier balls than pickleheads. The average heart rate recorded on an Apple Watch while playing pickleball was 143 beats per minute, while tennis averaged 152 beats per minute. Tennis players also spent 9% more time in a higher-intensity heart rate zone compared to pickleball players. Between the lines: At this year's U.S. Open, organizers are prominently displaying an ad proclaiming tennis "the world's healthiest sport" on ESPN broadcasts. Another ad this summer: "Live longer, play tennis." Keep reading.

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💔 Rest in peace: The sports world is still reeling from the tragic deaths of NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, who were killed by a drunk driver while biking. ‌ 🙏 Pearsall update: 49ers receiver Ricky Pearsall has been released from the hospital after being shot during an alleged attempted robbery in San Francisco. The 2024 first-round pick will miss at least four games. ‌ ⚾️ Historic homer streak: Brewers shortstop Willy Adames has hit a home run in five consecutive games, tied for the longest streak by a shortstop since 1900. ‌ 🌭 86 hot dogs: Joey Chestnut chowed down 86 hot dogs in 10 minutes to beat his own world record and top rival Takeru Kobayashi during Monday's "Unfinished Beef" competition, which streamed live on Netflix. ‌ ⚾️ 60 years later: The Cardinals won in the Bronx on Saturday, marking their first road win against the Yankees since Game 5 of the 1964 World Series.

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⚾️ 105.5 mph: Angels rookie Ben Joyce threw the fastest strikeout pitch ever recorded (and the third-fastest pitch overall) during Tuesday's game against the Dodgers. Only Aroldis Chapman (105.8 mph and 105.7 mph) has registered a higher speed in the Statcast era. ‌ 🏀 Fever clinch playoff spot: Caitlin Clark and the Fever are headed to the postseason for the first time since 2016, snapping a seven-year playoff drought that was tied for the longest in WNBA history. ‌ 🏒 Leon's mega payday: The Oilers have signed Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year, $112 million extension that features the highest salary cap hit in the NHL. ‌ 🏈 Seminoles drops out: Florida State fell out of the AP Top 25 after starting 0-2. They're just the third team to go from preseason top-10 to unranked in the first regular-season poll since the rankings expanded to 25 teams in 1989. ‌ ⛳️ The squads are set: Jim Furyk (Team USA) and Mike Weir (Team International) made their six captain's picks to round out their squads for the Presidents Cup later this month.   🎾 U.S. OPEN AMERICANS SEIZE THE SPOTLIGHT IN NEW YORK There will be an all-American men's semifinal at the U.S. Open after No. 12 Taylor Fritz and No. 20 Frances Tiafoe both advanced on Tuesday. ‌ A rare occurence: American men have met in the semifinals or finals of a Grand Slam just three times this century, and it hasn't happened in 19 years. ‌ 2005 U.S. Open semifinals: Andre Agassi beat Robby Ginepri 2002 U.S. Open final: Pete Sampras beat Agassi 2000 Australian Open semifinals: Agassi beat Sampras Guaranteed finalist: The winner of Fritz-Tiafoe will become the first American to make a men's Grand Slam final since Andy Roddick in 2009 at Wimbledon (lost to Roger Federer), and they'll be vying to become the first American to win a men's Grand Slam final since Roddick lifted the 2003 U.S. Open trophy… 7,668 days ago. ‌ Different paths to get here… ‌ Fritz is the son of tennis pros (his mom Kathy May made three major quarterfinals in her career) whose game was meticulously crafted in an affluent San Diego suburb. Tiafoe is the son of African immigrants and discovered tennis at a training center in suburban D.C. where his father was a custodian (and where Frances often slept on a massage table). Good read: "Two Boys Dreamed of Playing Tennis" (New York Magazine) … This 2016 feature on Fritz and Tiafoe is worth revisiting eight years later. Women's bracket: American Emma Navarro is through to the semifinals, and fellow American Jessica Pegula can join her if she beats No. 1 Iga Świątek today. Unlike Fritz and Tiafoe, there's no juxtaposition here: Navarro and Pegula are both daughters of billionaires. ‌ Meanwhile, in mixed doubles... Americans Donald Young and Taylor Townsend have reached the finals. Young, a former teen phenom, will go for his first major title in the final match of his career. Townsend, who is in the women's doubles semis, has a chance to win two trophies.   🏈 CRYSTAL BALL NFL SEASON PREDICTIONS (Taylar Sievert/Yahoo Sports) One more sleep until the NFL returns! Here are some predictions from our experts.   ⚾️ RACE TO THE FINISH MLB PLAYOFF PICTURE: WHERE THINGS STAND (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports) The MLB playoff picture is beginning to take shape as we enter the final stretch of the season. No teams have clinched berths yet, but nine are getting close. ‌ Postseason odds, via FanGraphs: ‌ Almost there: Dodgers (100%), Orioles (99.9%), Yankees (99.9%), Guardians (99.9%), Brewers (99.9%), Phillies (99.8%), Astros (98.7%), Padres (95.7%), Twins (95.2%) Looking good: Diamondbacks (84.4%), Royals (77.3%), Braves (76.3%) In the mix: Mets (40.5%) Hanging around: Red Sox (12.6%), Tigers (9.3%) Mathematically still alive: Mariners (4.5%), Cubs (2.0%), Rays (1.8%), Cardinals (1.2%), Giants (0.3%), Blue Jays (0.2%) American League ‌ AL East: It's a two-team race between the Orioles (81-59) and Yankees (80-59), who will meet in the Bronx later this month (Sep. 24-26) for a three-game set that could decide the division. AL Central: The Guardians (80-59) are up 4.5 games on the Twins (75-63) and 5.5 games on the Royals (75-65), who they will try to sweep tonight in Kansas City. AL West: Death, taxes and the 'Stros in the West. After early struggles, Houston (75-63) has a comfortable 6.5-game lead on the Mariners (69-70), who have forgotten how to hit. AL Wild Card: The Yankees (80-59), Twins (75-63) and Royals (75-65) would be the Wild Card teams if the season ended today. The Red Sox (70-69) and Tigers (70-69) are 4.5 games out of the third spot, and the Mariners (69-70) and Rays (68-70) are right behind them. ‌ National League ‌ NL East: The Phillies (82-56) have a 7-game lead on the Braves (75-63), who they won't see again this season, and a 7.5-game lead on the Mets (75-64), who they play seven times this month. NL Central: The Brewers (81-58) have this thing all but wrapped up, with the Cubs (71-68) and Cardinals (70-69) both trailing Milwaukee by double-digit games. NL West: The Dodgers (84-55) are eyeing their 11th NL West title in 12 seasons, but it won't be a cake walk like the past two years. The Padres (79-61) and Diamondbacks (77-61) are both within striking distance. NL Wild Card: The Padres (79-61), Diamondbacks (77-61) and Braves (75-63) hold the three Wild Card spots, but the Mets (75-64) are just 0.5 games back. The Cubs (71-68) and Cardinals (70-69) are one winning streak away from making some noise. ‌ More MLB: Power rankings     📆 ON THIS DAY SEPT. 4, 1993: ONE HAND, NO HITS Abbott raises his arms in celebration. (Focus on Sport via Getty Images) 31 years ago today, Yankees lefty Jim Abbott — who was born without a right hand — tossed a no-hitter against the Indians in a 4-0 win at Yankee Stadium. ‌ Don Mattingly: "The last couple of innings, I had these huge goose bumps on my forearms, and the hair on the back of my neck was standing up," said the Yankees first baseman. "Maybe that would have happened with someone else. But I think because it was Jim, there was a little something extra." ‌ The man, the myth, the legend: Abbott, who would hold his glove with the end of his right arm before switching it to his left hand after every pitch so he could field his position, inspired millions as an athlete and a motivational speaker. Some of his best quotes: ‌ "Never allow the circumstances of your life to become an excuse. People will allow you to do it, but I believe we have a personal obligation to make the most of the abilities we have." "What drove me were the low expectations people had for me, especially in new situations. I insisted on showing them what I could do." My personal favorite: "Baseball gave me many great blessings — the people I met, the places I saw, the incomparable feeling of winning a major league game. But maybe the greatest gift was that it helped me come to peace with the burden of being different."   Caitlin Clark and the red-hot Fever* visit the Los Angeles Sparks tonight (7pm ET, CBSSN) as Indiana looks to win its fifth straight game. ‌ Rookie of the Year: With all due to respect to Angel Reese, who broke the WNBA's single-season rebounding record, Clark is having arguably the best rookie season ever. Since play resumed post-Olympics, she's averaging 25/5/9 on 48/39/92 shooting. ‌ More to watch: ‌ 🎾 Tennis: U.S. Open (12pm, ESPN) … Quarterfinals. 🥇 Paralympics: Day 7 (USA/Peacock) ⚾️ MLB: Guardians at Royals (7:40pm, FS1) *Quite the turnaround: The Fever started 1-8 and looked destined to finish at the bottom of the league. Since then, they're 16-8 (including 8-2 in their last 10 games) and are officially headed to the postseason.

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🏈 1 fun thing: NFL kicks off

Data: ESPN. Table: Axios Visuals The NFL season starts tonight with the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Baltimore Ravens, as the Chiefs begin their quest to become the first team to three-peat as Super Bowl champs. Why it matters: This is the biggest NFL Kickoff weekend ever — a football holiday with games today, tomorrow, Sunday and Monday. Keep reading. 🧀 🇧🇷 🦅 Friday night's game is Packers-Eagles in São Paulo, Brazil — the NFL's debut in South America, widening the league's footprint on the road to becoming a global sports property. How to watch. Workers prepare Corinthians Arena (usually a soccer stadium) in São Paulo, Brazil, for Packers-Eagles tomorrow. Photo: Andre Penner/AP This is the first time since 1970 that the NFL has had a Friday night game in its opening week schedule. Full weekend schedule ... Season guide: Big games and rule changes.

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🎾 Sinner, Draper advance: Top-seeded Jannik Sinner blew past 2021 U.S. Open champ Daniil Medvedev to reach the last four, and No. 25 Jack Draper upset No. 10 Alex de Minaur to join him there. ‌ ⚾️ Homer history: Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber hit his 13th leadoff home run of the season, tying the MLB record set by Alfonso Soriano; Gunnar Henderson hit his 35th homer, passing Cal Ripken Jr. and Miguel Tejada for the most by an Orioles shortstop. ‌ 🏈 Surtain gets paid: Broncos star cornerback Patrick Surtain II has signed a four-year, $96 million extension ($24 million per year) that makes him the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history — by a lot. ‌ 💃 Olympians go dancing: Team USA breakout stars Ilona Maher (rugby) and Stephen Nedoroscik (gymnastics) will compete on Season 33 of "Dancing with the Stars." (How is this show still a thing?) ‌ 🏈 @BillBelichick: This is not a drill: Bill Belichick, out of a job for the first time since 1975, has joined Instagram. Or "Instaface," as he calls it.

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🏈 1 fun thing: NFL's frequent flyers

Data: Bookies.com. Table: Axios Visuals The L.A. Chargers — who don't play a game outside the U.S. this season — will log the most miles of any team, Axios' Maxwell Millington writes. Four NFL teams are scheduled to travel more miles than the circumference of the Earth. 🧀 🦅 Zoom in: Nine teams are traveling internationally, including the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, for tonight's game in São Paulo, Brazil. Go deeper. Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely catches a pass with his toe out of bounds as time expires. Photo: Ed Zurga/AP 📏 Game of inches: The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs opened the NFL season with a 27-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens, who came thisclose to tying the game on the last play (pictured above). Watch the replay: Full-speed ... Slow-mo.

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🎓 Settlement hits snag: The NCAA's landmark antitrust settlement is on hold and in danger of not moving forward. A judge ordered the parties to "go back to the drawing board" regarding language that limits third-party pay to athletes, most notably from boosters. ‌ 🎾 The final is set: American Jessica Pegula rallied past Karolina Muchova to advance to tomorrow's U.S. Open women's final against Aryna Sabalenka, who beat American Emma Navarro in straight sets. ‌ 👟 Richardson tops Alfred: In their first race since the Olympics, silver medalist Sha'Carri Richardson (10.84) narrowly beat gold medalist Julien Alfred (10.88) to win the 100m at Diamond League Zurich. ‌ 🎓 UConn staying put (for now): The Big 12 is pausing expansion discussions with UConn. The league had been in talks with the Huskies about joining as a member in basketball and other sports in 2026. ‌ 🏈 Trojans retiring No. 13: USC will retire Caleb Williams' No. 13 jersey, making him the seventh Heisman winner to have his number retired by the school.   🏈 KICKOFF GAME CHIEFS 27, RAVENS 20 The Chiefs hung on by a toe to beat the Ravens, 27-20, in a thrilling start to the NFL season. ‌ ICYMI: On the final play, Lamar Jackson scrambled and appeared to hit tight end Isaiah Likely in the back of the end zone as time expired. The camera panned to Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, who was signaling to go for 2 and the win. ‌ But then they showed the replay... Likely's toe was barely on the back line and the pass was ruled incomplete. "Gotta wear white cleats next time," joked Patrick Mahomes, who is now 6-1 in season openers and 5-1 against Jackson. ‌ A game of inches... (NBC) Game notes: ‌ Tyreek Hill 2.0: Chiefs rookie speedster Xavier Worthy scored on his first NFL touch and added another TD in the fourth quarter. The Swift effect: Taylor Swift was at the game, in case you haven't heard. The Chiefs are now 11-3 when she's in attendance. Running wild: Jackson (16 carries, 122 yards) moved up to third on the QB rushing yards list, trailing only Cam Newton and Michael Vick. All-time leader: Mahomes (20/28, 291 yards, TD, INT) passed Len Dawson as the Chiefs' all-time leading passer — in 86 fewer games.   ⚽️ SWEET, SWEET VICTORY THEY DID IT! SAN MARINO WON A SOCCER GAME! (Giphy) San Marino, the world's worst soccer team, finally won a game. ‌ The wait is over: The tiny country surrounded by Italy beat Liechtenstein, 1-0, in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday for their first-ever win in a competitive match and their first victory of any kind since beating the same opponent in a friendly 20 years ago. ‌ 19-year-old Nicko Sensoli, who wasn't even born when San Marino last won, scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 53rd minute. The crowd at San Marino Stadium went wild when the final whistle blew, officially ending the country's 140-match losing streak. By the numbers: San Marino's all-time record is now 2-10-199 (as in 2 wins, 10 draws, 199 losses). Don't let the boys get hot! ‌ The world's smallest countries: San Marino (24 square miles) is the fifth-smallest country on Earth, trailing only Vatican City (0.19), Monaco (0.77), Nauru (8) and Tuvalu (10).   The Eagles and Packers meet tonight in São Paulo, Brazil (8:15pm ET, Peacock) for the NFL's first-ever game in South America and the first Week 1 game held on a Friday night since 1970.* ‌ Full stream ahead: Tonight's game is only available on Peacock, which is one of four streaming platforms (Prime Video, Netflix, ESPN+) with exclusive broadcasts this season. Here's the full Week 1 slate. ‌ More to watch: ‌ 🎾 Tennis: U.S. Open (Fri-Sun, ESPN) … Men's semifinals tonight and tomorrow, women's final tomorrow, men's final on Sunday. 🏈 NCAAF: No. 3 Texas at No. 10 Michigan (Sat. 12pm, Fox); No. 14 Tennessee at No. 24 NC State (Sat. 7pm, ABC); Iowa State at No. 21 Iowa (Sat. 7:30pm, CBS) … Full slate. 🥇 Paralympics: Days 9-11 (Fri-Sat, USA/Peacock) … Medal table. ⚾️ MLB: Twins at Royals (Sat. 7:15pm, Fox); Diamondbacks at Astros (Sun. 7pm, ESPN) 🏀 WNBA: Aces at Liberty (Sun. 4pm, ESPN) … WNBA Finals rematch. ⚽️ MLS: Houston vs. LAFC (Sat. 8:30pm, Apple) … One of just six matches this week. ⚽️ NWSL: Washington vs. Portland (Sat. 12:30pm, CBS); NJ/NY vs. Houston (Sun. 1pm, ESPN) 🏁 NASCAR: Atlanta Motor Speedway (Sun. 3pm, USA)

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🧀 🦅 1 for the road: NFL's South American debut

Photo: Andre Penner/AP SÃO PAULO, Brazil — "FAÇA BARULHO" (make noise), the scoreboards ordered. An offside call was "IMPEDIMENTO." The halftime show by Brazilian singer Anitta was "show do intervalo." The kiss cam was "Câmera do Beijo." But "Green Bay Packers" and "Philadelphia Eagles" are part of a universal language — no translation required. Fans, including Mike, who traveled to Brazil for last night's Packers-Eagles game in a soccer stadium got a Portuguese overlay for America's most popular sport. That included a stadium announcer who brought verve and brio to his play-by-play — entertaining even if you didn't get the actual words. 🏈 Why it matters: This league's debut in South America was part of a growing slate of international games, as the league methodically builds a global footprint for a dominant American pastime. (Brazil, England, Mexico and Germany are the only countries outside the U.S. to host regular-season games.) This was the first Friday game of NFL kickoff weekend in 54 years — since the Rams beat the Cardinals in L.A. 1970. Attendance at Corinthians Arena was 47,236 — near capacity. You could tell there was a huge local contingent: Fans around the stadium, many in Packers or Eagles jerseys, stood to belt out Brazilian pop songs occasionally played during timeouts. 📺 NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" from Brazil yesterday: "We feel like this game is destined to be global." Asked about the possibility of a future game in Africa, Goodell said: "Absolutely. We're doing more and more in Africa on development of players. ... We expect to be in Asia soon. We expect to be in Australia soon. ... We're gonna have eight [international) games a year, minimum. And if we do get to an 18 and two [preseason] game season, we likely will see even more international games. And I hope someday we'll be playing 16." Tough night to be a Packers fan: QB Jordan Love, the $220 million man, limped off the field with assistance after an apparent lower leg injury in the final seconds of a grim 34-29 loss to the Eagles. Game recap ... Local color.

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🏈 NFL Sunday is here

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

Two buzzy games we're watching today, via Axios' Maxwell Millington: Tennessee Titans at Chicago Bears: A new era of Bears football begins in Caleb Williams' official NFL debut against the Titans. Watch: 1 p.m. ET on Fox Sports L.A. Rams at Detroit Lions: The Rams' Matthew Stafford returns to Ford Field for a Sunday Night Football contest between two playoff hopefuls. Watch: 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC And a couple big match-ups on the horizon: New York Jets at San Francisco 49ers: Aaron Rodgers' "Comeback Player of the Year" campaign begins against the 49ers. Watch: 8:15 p.m. ET tomorrow on ABC and ESPN. Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins: Miami will get an early litmus test when they host the Bills in prime time this week. Watch: 8:15 p.m. ET Thursday on CBS More games.

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Tennis attire is everywhere. Credit the pandemic, social media and pickleball

While tennis fans savor the last matches of the U.S. Open, a subset of spectators and TV viewers have watched the year’s final Grand Slam tournament as a source of fashion inspiration they can use to serve looks off the court.

https://apnews.com/article/us-open-tennis-fashion-trend-pickleball-9de17133ac8c25d84a0fde55bc913ee3?

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Jannik Sinner beats Taylor Fritz in the US Open men’s final just weeks after his doping exoneration

NEW YORK (AP) — Jannik Sinner started slowly at the U.S. Open, dropping the first set he played after being exonerated in a doping case no one knew about until shortly before play began at Flushing Meadows.

https://apnews.com/article/us-open-2024-live-updates-sinner-fritz-13448c797be1d9a94b82f43f6c068aa9?

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🚨 ICYMI

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🎶 Super Bowl headliner: Kendrick Lamar will headline the Super Bowl LIX halftime show in New Orleans, just three years after he co-headlined the halftime show in Los Angeles. ‌ 🏈 Love out 3-6 weeks: Packers QB Jordan Love (MCL sprain) is expected to miss 3-6 weeks after going down awkwardly during the final seconds of Friday night's game in Brazil. ‌ 🏀 WNBA rookie watch: Caitlin Clark put up another massive stat line (26-5-12); Angel Reese (wrist) will miss the rest of the season. ‌ ⚽️ Canada 2, USA 1: The USMNT lost to Canada on American soil for the first time since 1957. ‌ 🏀 Murray gets the max: Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray signed a four-year, $208 million maximum extension that will keep him in Denver through 2029.   Scoreboard: ‌ Lions 26, Rams 20 (OT) Bills 34, Cardinals 28 Texans 29, Colts 27 Dolphins 20, Jaguars 17 Bears 24, Titans 17 Cowboys 33, Browns 17 Buccaneers 37, Commanders 20 Seahawks 26, Broncos 20 Chargers 22, Raiders 10 Patriots 16, Bengals 10 Steelers 18, Falcons 10 Saints 47, Panthers 10 Vikings 28, Giants 6 Eagles 34, Packers 29 (Friday)

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🏈 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

NFL POWER RANKINGS: BUCS UP, PACK DOWN

(Taylar Sievert/Yahoo Sports)

The Chiefs and 49ers, last year's Super Bowl participants, sit atop our post-Week 1 power rankings, courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Frank Schwab. ‌ Where it stands: The Buccaneers (+8), Seahawks (+7), Steelers (+6), Vikings (+6) and Saints (+5) were the biggest risers, while the Packers (-14) took the biggest tumble due to Jordan Love's injury. The Falcons (-8), Jets (-5), Browns (-5) and Bengals (-5) also dropped significantly. ‌ Top half: ‌ Chiefs: 1-0 (--) 49ers: 1-0 (up 1) Lions: 1-0 (down 1) Cowboys: 1-0 (up 1) Ravens: 0-1 (down 1) Bills: 1-0 (up 1) Eagles: 1-0 (up 1) Texans: 1-0 (up 1) Dolphins: 1-0 (up 4) Rams: 0-1 (up 4) Jets: 0-1 (down 5) Seahawks: 1-0 (up 7) Buccaneers: 1-0 (up 😎 Steelers: 1-0 (up 6) Bears: 1-0 (up 1) Browns: 0-1 (down 5) Bottom half: 17. Bengals, 18. Jaguars, 19. Colts, 20. Vikings, 21. Chargers, 22. Saints, 23. Falcons, 24. Packers, 25. Raiders, 26. Cardinals, 27. Commanders, 28. Titans, 29. Broncos, 30. Patriots, 31. Giants, 32. Panthers

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📸 PARIS 2024

BEHIND THE LENS: PARALYMPICS

Lichao Wang of Team China competes in the Mixed 4x50m Freestyle Relay. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Getty Images photographers take us "Behind the Lens" of their favorite shots from the 2024 Paralympics. ‌ Behind the lens: Adam took this photo with Getty's underwater robotic camera and used a slow shutter speed to give the image some movement and illustrate how fast Wang is moving. ‌ "Paralympic swimming is one of the most amazing things to capture, and the atmosphere in Paris was the best I've ever experienced. I think it was actually louder than the Olympics, with the crowd so much more behind the athletes and not just cheering for their own country."

Zakia Khudadadi of the Refugee Paralympic Team celebrates after winning the Women's Taekwondo bronze medal. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Behind the lens: Steph positioned herself so she was squared up with the Paris 2024 logo and waited for Khudadadi’s celebration, which aligned perfectly and created a memorable shot. ‌ "Zakia is the first refugee medalist in Paralympics history. The French fans cheered her on the entire day because she lives and trains in France, so I knew a winning moment would be explosive. Little did I know that her coach would do most of the celebrating and parading of her!"

Team Canada and Team Rwanda in action. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Behind the lens: "There are epic battles at the net in sitting volleyball," says Elsa, who used a 300mm lens to highlight the action in the trenches. ‌ "What I love about this image is the detail: the taped fingers and the fingernail artwork add so much to the texture. I worked on this for about half of a set to get it just right."

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🚨 ICYMI

headlineS

⛳️ PGA-LIV talks draw ire: The PGA Tour met with the Saudi Public Investment Fund on Tuesday in New York. This enraged 9/11 families, who called the discussions (and the timing) "incredibly painful" given the Saudi Arabian government's "role in the horrific attacks." ‌ 🏈 Hill wants officers fired: Tyreek Hill and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, are calling for the Miami-Dade police officers involved in his detainment to lose their jobs. ‌ ⚾️ 33-113: The Guardians blanked the White Sox, 5-0, to hand Chicago its 113th loss. They're now eight away from breaking the 1962 Mets' historic mark and becoming the de facto "worst MLB team ever." ‌ 🏀 Honoring "The Logo": The Lakers will wear a No. 44 jersey patch next season in honor of franchise legend Jerry West, who passed away in June. ‌ 🏈 Ex-Wolverines file lawsuit: Braylon Edwards, Denard Robinson and two other former Michigan football players are suing the NCAA and Big Ten Network for $50 million over the "wrongful" continued use of their NIL.   ⚽️ YOU'RE HIRED! POCHETTINO TO THE RESCUE Mauricio Pochettino during his Chelsea tenure, which lasted just one season before ending in May. (Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images) After a weeks-long wait, Mauricio Pochettino was finally announced as the new USMNT manager on Tuesday. Hours later, a disappointing 1-1 draw with New Zealand showed just how badly his services are needed. ‌ A new chapter: The 52-year-old Argentine has signed a two-year contract that runs through the 2026 World Cup, and he'll make his debut next month when the U.S. plays friendlies against Panama (in Austin) and Mexico (in Guadalajara). ‌ His arrival can't come soon enough for a team that is 1-4-2 over the past three months and in desperate need of cultural change. "Just that winning mentality. It's just something that’s missing," said Christian Pulisic after last night's draw. Pochettino, who took Tottenham to a Champions League final and the upper echelons of the Premier League during a five-year stint (2014-19) and managed two of the world's biggest clubs (Chelsea and PSG), knows what a winning culture looks like. Let's talk dollars: Pochettino will be paid $6 million annually, per ESPN, which is less than what he earned at Chelsea and PSG (~$10 million), but makes him by far the highest-paid coach in USMNT history. His predecessor, Gregg Berhalter, had a base salary of ~$1.5 million. ‌ Billionaire to the rescue! Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, the 42nd-richest person in the world, provided significant support for the hire through a "philanthropic leadership gift," according to U.S. Soccer. Another hedge fund manager, Scott Goodwin, and "several commercial partners" also made contributions. ‌ What he's saying: "The decision to join U.S. Soccer wasn't just about football for me; it's about the journey that this team and this country are on," said Pochettino. "The energy, the passion, and the hunger to achieve something truly historic here — those are the things that inspired me."   🏈 EARLY STRUGGLES STAT OF THE DAY: 188.3 PASSING YARDS (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) Week 1 of the NFL season featured the fewest passing yards (188.3 per team) of any opening week this century — and the second-most rushing yards (121.5 per team). ‌ What's going on? I don't want to overreact to such a small sample size, but we may be reaching a tipping point in the NFL's years-long "passing revolution." ‌ Defenses have adjusted to modern offensive schemes, and the "QB Golden Age" that spanned much of the 2000s (Brady, Manning, Brees, etc) is over. There's lots of talent at the position, don't get me wrong, but Week 1 was a struggle: Only two QBs had 300+ passing yards (Tua Tagovailoa, Matthew Stafford), and 17 of 32 starters had less than 200. On the flip side: While passers struggled, many rushers thrived. Six RBs eclipsed 100 yards (Joe Mixon, Jordan Mason, J.K. Dobbins, Rhamondre Stevenson, Saquon Barkley, Kenneth Walker III) and five QBs eclipsed 50 (Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, Kyler Murray, Justin Fields, Anthony Richardson).   📺 ROY VS. MVP WATCHLIST: CLARK VS. WILSON Caitlin Clark is must-see TV right now. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images) The Aces host the Fever tonight (7pm ET, NBA) in a matchup between the WNBA's most exciting player, Caitlin Clark, and its best player, A'ja Wilson.* ‌ Setting the stage: The Aces are the two-time defending champs and Wilson is a virtual lock to win MVP. But Clark has entered the conversation. The Fever are 8-2 since the Olympics break, and Clark cannot be stopped: ‌ Aug. 16: 29 pts, 5 reb, 10 ast Aug. 18: 23 pts, 5 reb, 9 ast Aug. 24: 23 pts, 5 reb, 8 ast Aug. 26: 18 pts, 7 reb, 7 ast Aug. 28: 19 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast Aug. 30: 31 pts, 4 reb, 12 ast Sept. 1: 28 pts, 4 reb, 12 ast Sept. 4: 24 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast Sept. 6: 25 pts, 8 reb, 8 ast Sept. 8: 26 pts, 5 reb, 12 ast More to watch: ‌ ⚾️ MLB: Royals at Yankees (7pm, Prime); Padres at Mariners (9:40pm, FS1) … All four teams are in the playoff hunt. 🏐 NCAA Volleyball: Houston at Texas (9pm, ESPN2) … The Longhorns are the reigning champs but haven't looked like it so far (2-2 record). ⛳️ NCAA Golf: Folds of Honor Collegiate (11:30am, Golf) … Final round of the three-day tournament featuring 15 men's and 15 women's teams. *Wilson update: The Aces superstar (leg) is listed as available tonight after missing Sunday's game against the Liberty. She's 11 points away from setting the WNBA record for most points in a season.

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🏀 WNBA boom also brings nastiness

As the WNBA's popularity has surged, so has the vitriol targeting some of the league's best-known players, Axios' Andrew Ricketts reports.

• Driving the news: The tension bubbled over this week. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert touched a nerve with players when she responded to a question about online abuse from fans toward stars Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark by suggesting the increased attention was good for the league.

Asked on CNBC about the fact that social media discourse between fans of Chicago Sky forward Reese and Indiana Fever guard Clark had often devolved into racism and misogyny, Engelbert alluded to the benefits of divided fans:

• "There's no more apathy. Everybody cares. It is a little bit of that Bird-Magic moment," Engelbert remarked, comparing this turning point to the NBA's breakout 1979 season, and noting that in both cases one star was Black and one white.
• "The one thing I know about sports: you need rivalry. That's what makes people watch."

Several prominent players spoke out about those comments. 2023 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart called them "disappointing."

• "The way that the fans have surged, and especially behind Caitlin and Angel coming to this league — and also bringing the race aspect to a different level ... there's no place for that in our sport. We want our sport to be inclusive for race, gender…and really a place where people can be themselves."

Keep reading.

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🚨 ICYMI

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🏈 Falcons 22, Eagles 21: With 1:57 left in the fourth quarter, the Falcons had a 0.7% chance to win. But Kirk Cousins rose to the occasion, leading a surgical 70-yard TD drive to lift Atlanta to an improbable victory. ‌ 🏒 Crosby extended: Penguins legend Sidney Crosby has signed a two-year, $17.4 million extension that will keep the 37-year-old in Pittsburgh through the 2026-27 season. ‌ ⚾️ Monday was good to the Mets: New York moved back into playoff position with a walk-off win over the Nationals (and a Braves loss to the Dodgers). Even better news: Star shortstop Francisco Lindor (back) won't require a trip to the IL and should return soon. ‌ 🏀 Stalker arrested: An Oregon man has been arrested for allegedly harassing, stalking and threatening UConn women's basketball star Paige Bueckers for months. ‌ ⚽️ Comeback kids: Down 2-0 to Germany with two minutes left, the U.S. scored twice in stoppage time and won in a shootout on Sunday to advance to the semifinals of the U-20 Women's World Cup. They play Japan tomorrow.

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⚾️ RACE TO OCTOBER AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFF PICTURE (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) With just under two weeks left in the regular season, the American League divisional and wild card races remain undecided, Jeff writes. ‌ AL East: It's a two-team race between the Yankees and Orioles, with the loser all but guaranteed to take a wild card spot. Their series next week in the Bronx should be electric. ‌ Yankees (87-63): 3 at Mariners, 3 at A's, 3 vs. Orioles, 3 vs. Pirates Orioles (84-66, 3 GB): 3 vs. Giants, 3 vs. Tigers, 3 at Yankees, 3 at Twins AL Central: The Guardians can put the Twins away during this week's four-game set, while the Royals are hanging around with a chance to win their first division title since 2015. ‌ Guardians (87-64): 3 vs. Twins, 3 at Cardinals, 2 vs. Reds, 3 vs. Astros Royals (82-69, 5 GB): 2 vs. Tigers, 3 vs. Giants, 3 at Nationals, 3 at Braves Twins (79-71, 7.5 GB): 3 at Guardians, 3 at Red Sox, 3 vs. Marlins, 3 vs. Orioles AL West: Hard to believe the Mariners held a 10-game lead in mid-June. Now, their last real chance to catch the Astros is next week's high-stakes clash in Houston. ‌ Astros (81-69): 2 at Padres, 4 vs. Angels, 3 vs. Mariners, 3 at Guardians Mariners (77-73, 4 GB): 3 vs. Yankees, 3 at Rangers, 3 at Astros, 3 vs A's AL Wild Card: The Orioles (if they lose the division) and Royals (ditto) have more or less locked up the first two spots, but the Twins' recent slide has opened the door for the Tigers (1.5 GB), Mariners (2 GB) and Red Sox (4 GB) to contend for the final berth. ‌ Notes: ‌ Houston is inevitable: The Astros are on track to win their seventh consecutive division title (not counting the COVID year). Their last one before this run? 2001. Championship hangover: Barring a miracle, the Rangers will be the first defending champion* since the 2020 Nationals to miss the playoffs, and the fifth to do so in the last 10 years. Worst team ever? With 11 games left, the White Sox (36-115) are five losses shy of tying the 1962 Mets' modern record for losses in a season (40-120). *The drought continues: No MLB team has won consecutive World Series since the Yankees' three-peat from 1998-2000. Since then, there have been four repeat NBA champions (2000-02 Lakers, 2009-10 Lakers, 2012-13 Heat, 2017-18 Warriors) and two each in the NFL (2004-05 Patriots, 2023-24 Chiefs) and NHL (2016-17 Penguins, 2020-21 Lightning).

⚾️ RACE TO OCTOBER NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFF PICTURE (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) The National League offers less intrigue than the AL, with the East (Phillies) and Central (Brewers) all but decided. But the West and the Wild Card are still up for grabs, Jeff writes. ‌ NL West: This the Dodgers' race to lose, and their schedule looks pretty easy the rest of the way. But if the Padres keep things close, their head-to-head series next week in L.A. could decide the division. The Diamondbacks are alive but may have to win out for a real chance. ‌ Dodgers (89-61): 3 at Marlins, 3 vs. Rockies, 3 vs. Padres, 3 at Rockies Padres (86-65, 3.5 GB): 2 vs. Astros, 3 vs. White Sox, 3 at Dodgers, 3 at Diamondbacks Diamondbacks (83-67, 6 GB): 2 at Rockies, 4 at Brewers, 3 vs. Giants, 3 vs. Padres NL Wild Card: The Padres (86-65), Diamondbacks (83-67), Mets (82-68) and Braves (81-69) are separated by 4.5 games and fighting for three spots. To make things even more exciting, San Diego plays Arizona and Atlanta plays New York next week. ‌ Notes: ‌ Juggernaut out West: The Dodgers* are on track to claim their 11th NL West crown since 2013, which is more division titles than all but eight other franchises have won in their history. The wait continues: The Pirates will have to wait at least another year to snap their NL-worst playoff drought dating back to 2016 (one year better than the AL-worst Tigers and Angels), but at least they got to root for Paul Skenes every fifth day this summer. Improvement! The Nationals finished dead last in four straight seasons following their 2019 World Series title, but they'll finish fourth this year behind an exciting young core, and might be ready to start contending again next season. *Help on the way? L.A.'s injury-riddled pitching staff suffered another setback with Tyler Glasnow unlikely to return this season, but there's a chance Shohei Ohtani could pitch in the playoffs.

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🏈 FIND YOUR TEAM

NFL POWER RANKINGS: UPSETS SHAKE THINGS UP

(Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports)

Week 2 featured a number of upsets, which shook up the top of our NFL power rankings, courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Frank Schwab, Jeff writes. ‌ Favorites go down: Seven of our top 10 from last week lost, resulting in 12 teams that moved up or down by at least five spots. ‌ Risers: The Saints (+10) and Vikings (+9) were the biggest risers after beating the Cowboys and 49ers, followed by the Falcons (+6), Raiders (+5), Packers (+5), Texans (+5) and Chargers (+5). Fallers: The Rams (-15) and Dolphins (-14) are in free fall after blowout losses and critical injuries to Cooper Kupp and Tua Tagovailoa. The Colts (-7), Bears (-6) and Jaguars (-6) also tumbled. 🎙️ Fresh pod: Week 2 Panic Meter (Yahoo Fantasy Forecast)