Members phkrause Posted August 18, 2025 Author Members Posted August 18, 2025 ? Good morning! Welcome back. In today's edition: The reign of the "Big Two," Scottie wins again, the NCAA's fragile authority, Little League Classic, Baker's Dozen, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports… ? ICYMI headlineS ⛳️ Scottie wins again: Scottie Scheffler won the BMW Championship on Sunday to give him 5+ victories in back-to-back PGA Tour seasons. The only other golfer to accomplish that over the past 40 years? Tiger Woods (six times). ? Sue gets a statue: The Seattle Storm unveiled a bronze Sue Bird statue outside their home arena on Sunday, making the legendary point guard the first WNBA player to be honored in that way. ⚾️ Brewers streak snapped: Milwaukee's magical 14-game winning streak (franchise record) came to an end on Sunday with an extra-innings loss to the Reds. ? Kaepernick doc scrapped: Spike Lee's docuseries on Colin Kaepernick is no longer moving forward at ESPN. This comes on the heels of the NFL acquiring a 10% equity stake in the network. ? Byron clinches title: William Byron clinched the NASCAR Cup Series regular season title with one race to spare. The prize? 15 extremely valuable bonus points that he'll carry through the first three rounds of the playoffs. ? CINCINNATI OPEN THE BIG TWO MEET AGAIN Sinner and Alcaraz shake hands after their epic French Open final earlier this year. (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images) Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will face off this afternoon in the final of the Cincinnati Open. Because of course they will. Run it back: Sinner and Alcaraz are just the third duo this century to meet in the final of four consecutive big events (i.e. Grand Slams and Masters 1000). The other two? Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal in 2006 and Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic in 2011. Head-to-head: Alcaraz holds an 8-5 advantage in the all-time series, including a 2-1 record in the three finals comprising this historic streak. Italian Open (May 18): Alcaraz def. Sinner, 7-6, 6-1 French Open (June 8): Alcaraz def. Sinner, 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 Wimbledon (July 13): Sinner def. Alcaraz, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 The Big Two: It wasn't that long ago that Djokovic, Federer and Nadal ruled the court as the Big Three, winning a mind-boggling 66 of 80 majors from 2003-23. And while Sinner and Alcaraz have a ways to go before entering that territory, their reign as the Big Two at least warrants being mentioned in the same breath. Sinner has been ranked No. 1 for 63 consecutive weeks since first landing there last June, and enters today's final at 31-3 on the year, including a 26-match win streak on hard courts. Alcaraz, who's been ranked no worse than No. 3 since Sept. 2022, has gone 53-6 this year and seeks his Tour-leading sixth title of the season. And most importantly, at least from a historical perspective: They've combined to win the last seven Grand Slams in a row, and nine of the last 12. Further reading: "Changeover," a new book by author and Defector Media co-founder Giri Nathan that examines the Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry and this new era of men's tennis, comes out tomorrow. ? SIGN-STEALING MICHIGAN CASE EXPOSES NCAA'S FRAGILE AUTHORITY (Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) The NCAA ruled on the Michigan sign-stealing scandal on Friday, hitting the Wolverines with a series of fines, suspensions and other sanctions but stopping short of punitive penalties such as a postseason ban or vacated wins. From Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee: For whatever hardship the NCAA's penalty will cause Michigan — a few new T-shirt slogans in Columbus, some slightly postponed redecorations to a couple stadium luxury suites — the larger truth is this: the Michigan case has revealed how fragile the NCAA's authority is now. In its report released Friday, the NCAA indicated specifically that due to the severity of the violations and Michigan's status as a repeat offender, "a postseason ban is required in this case." However, just a few lines later, the report notes that "a postseason ban would unfairly penalize student-athletes for the actions of coaches and staff who are no longer associated with the Michigan football program. Thus, a more appropriate penalty is an offsetting financial penalty." That's it right there. The NCAA isn't hammering schools with program-wrecking postseason bans, it's just serving them with bills. And given the vast resources pouring into the game now, that's not a punishment that will leave a mark. There's no love lost between the NCAA and Michigan, and the NCAA swung as hard as it realistically could at the Wolverines. But the penalties will hit with all the force of a well-swung pillow. Bottom line: The days of the NCAA carpet-bombing an athletic department into submission (see: SMU) appear to be over. The game has grown too large for its regulators to regulate. ? SNAPSHOTS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS "Good game." (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) ?? Williamsport, Pennsylvania — The Mets beat the Mariners, 7-3, on Sunday in the eighth annual Little League Classic. Then came a proud Little League tradition: postgame handshakes. How cool is this? Cal Raleigh wore a chest protector that featured photos of all his Mariners teammates as Little Leaguers. Everyone at Anfield took part in a minute of silence for "DJ20," No. 20 Diogo Jota. (Michael Steele/Getty Images) ??????? Liverpool, England — The defending Premier League champions honored the late Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva ahead of Friday's season-opening win over Bournemouth, with similar tributes held throughout the soccer world all weekend. Opening weekend recap: Arsenal beat Man United, 1-0, at Old Trafford; Man City shutout Wolves, 4-0, behind a brace from Erling Haaland; Full scoreboard. (Rafal Oleksiewicz/AP Photo) ?? Chorzów, Poland — Kishane Thompson (9.87 seconds) held off Noah Lyles (9.90) in the 100m at Saturday's Diamond League meet, exacting a small measure of revenge after Lyles beat him by 0.005 seconds last summer to win 100m Olympic gold. Near world record: Kenya's Faith Kipyegon won the women's 3000m by almost 30 seconds with a time of 8:07.04, the closest anyone has ever come to breaking Wang Junxia's world record of 8:06.11 set in 1993. (Rich Lam/Getty Images) ?? Vancouver — The Storm beat the Dream on Friday at Rogers Arena in the first WNBA regular-season game ever played in Canada. Plenty more to come: The Toronto Tempo will debut next season as the WNBA's first Canadian franchise. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) ?? Beijing — Yes, that is a robot kickboxing another robot during the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games, which is a real thing that went down this weekend. We'll go deeper on this tomorrow. ? FOX SPORTS THE EVOLUTION OF A SCOREBUG (Screengrab) Above: Fox's new NFL scorebug, which was unveiled on Sunday night. Below: The first incarnation of the Fox NFL scorebug (1994-96). (Screengrab) Journey through time: Fox scorebugs over the years ? STATS DU JOUR BY THE NUMBERS Chimaev throws du Plessis. (Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images) ? 529-45 Khamzat Chimaev obliterated Dricus du Plessis on Saturday night in Chicago to claim the 185-pound title at UFC 319. Just how lopsided was this fight? Chimaev landed 529 strikes. Du Plessis landed 45. ? 28-team bracket Big Ten and SEC executives have had discussions about a 28-team College Football Playoff bracket featuring seven automatic bids for each of them, five each for the Big 12 and ACC, two for the best Group of 6 programs and two at-large selections. ⛳️ 18 years old Georgia teenager Mason Howell capped a productive summer before his senior year of high school by winning the U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. Howell, 18, is the youngest U.S. Amateur champion since Byeong Hun An won at age 17 in 2009. ? $300 million gift Kansas Athletics has received a $300 million gift from donor David Booth, believed to be among the richest in the history of college sports. Booth, a graduate of Lawrence High School and KU, already has his name on the football stadium. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: MONDAY, AUG. 18 Washington beat Cincinnati, 38-33, in Week 3 last season. (Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) ? Bengals at Commanders | 8pm ET, ESPN Two teams with championship aspirations face off in a special preseason edition of "Monday Night Football." ? Cincinnati Open, Finals | 3-6pm, Tennis Channel No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz (3pm) in the men's final, followed by No. 3 Iga Świątek vs. No. 7 Jasmine Paolini in the women's final (6pm). More to watch: ⚽️ Premier League: Leeds United vs. Everton (3pm, USA) … Opening weekend concludes under the lights at Elland Road. ⚾️ MLB: Reds at Angels (9:38, FS1) … Cincinnati trails New York by one game for the third and final Wild Card spot. ⚾️ LLWS: Day 6 (1-7pm, ESPN) … South Carolina, Nevada, South Dakota, Connecticut, Aruba, Chinese Taipei, Venezuela and Japan take the field. ⚾️ 70 WINS MLB TRIVIA Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch celebrate after defeating the Pirates at Wrigley Field on Sunday. (Luke Hales/Getty Images) The Cubs (70-53) won their 70th game of the season on Sunday, making them the sixth team to reach that mark. Question: Can you name the other five teams with 70+ wins? Answer at the bottom. ? BAKER'S DOZEN TOP PLAYS OF THE WEEKEND ⛳️ Scheffler! ⚾️ How'd he catch that? ⚽️ Wonder strike ⚾️ Trevor Story! ⚾️ Is that Superman? ⚽️ Lamine Yamal! ? Fake punt TD ⚾️ Hot corner ⚾️ Two robberies ⛳️ 227-yard ace ⚾️ Tracks it down ⚾️ Gunnar Henderson! ⚽️ Golazo! Watch all 13. Trivia answer: Brewers (78-45), Blue Jays (73-52), Tigers (73-53), Dodgers (71-53), Phillies (71-53) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 19, 2025 Author Members Posted August 19, 2025 ? Good morning! Four more sleeps 'til college football. Quote of the night: "I was wondering, the person who invented the clock, the first clock ever. How did that person know what time it was?" — Phillies broadcaster John Kruk asking the deep questions. In today's edition: MLB playoff picture, AP Preseason All-Americans, all eyes on mixed doubles, Robot Olympics, 11 signatures, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports… ? ICYMI headlineS ? Champs in Cincy: Carlos Alcaraz won his sixth title of the year after Jannik Sinner retired due to illness; Iga Świątek beat Jasmine Paolini in straight sets for her 24th career title at age 24. ? Buckeyes name starter: Redshirt freshman Julian Sayin will start at QB for No. 3 Ohio State in the season opener vs. No. 1 Texas. Sayin joined the Buckeyes last season after transferring from Alabama. ? Turning back the clock: Rich Eisen anchored "SportsCenter" on Monday night, marking his first time on the desk in 22 years. His return was full of flashback moments and included a tribute to his longtime partner, Stuart Scott. ⚾️ Wheeler out indefinitely: Phillies ace Zack Wheeler underwent a successful procedure to remove a blood clot in his "upper right extremity." His recovery timeline remains unknown. ? PLL MVP finalists: Pat Kavanagh (Denver), Brennan O'Neill (Denver), Connor Shellenberger (New York) and Michael Sowers (Philadelphia) were named finalists for the Premier Lacrosse League MVP. ⚾️ WHO'S IN? MLB PLAYOFF PICTURE (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) Here's what the MLB postseason bracket would look like if the playoffs started today. Yankees-Red Sox and Dodgers-Mets to kick things off? I can get behind that. AL playoff odds Tigers (74-53): 99.4% Blue Jays (73-53): 99.2% Yankees (67-57): 93.3% Astros (69-56): 90.1% Mariners (68-58): 90.1% Red Sox (68-58): 74.3% Guardians (64-60): 20.8% Royals (64-61): 17.3% Rangers (62-64): 9.6% Rays (61-64): 4.1% Angels (60-65): 0.8% Twins (58-66): 0.7% Orioles (58-67): 0.1% Athletics (56-70): 0.0% White Sox (45-80): 0.0% NL playoffs odds Brewers (79-45): 100% Dodgers (71-54): 99.7% Phillies (72-53): 99.3% Cubs (70-54): 96.8% Padres (69-56): 95.4% Mets (66-58): 84.5% Reds (66-60): 18.0% Cardinals (62-64): 3.2% Giants (61-64): 2.6% D-backs (60-66): 0.3% Marlins (59-66): 0.1% Braves (56-69): 0.1% Pirates (53-73): 0.0% Nationals (50-74): 0.0% Rockies (36-89): 0.0% ? FIRST TEAM AP PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS Longhorns DB Michael Taaffe is one of three Texas defenders on the first team. (Olivia Ramirez/Texas Athletics/Getty Images) No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Penn State each landed three players on the AP preseason All-American first team, released Monday. Offense QB: Cade Klubnik (Clemson, Sr.) RB: Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame, Jr.); Nicholas Singleton (Penn State, Sr.) WR: Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State, Soph.); Ryan Williams (Alabama, Soph.); Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State, Jr.) TE: Eli Stowers (Vanderbilt, Sr.) OT: Spencer Fano (Utah, Jr.); Kadyn Proctor (Alabama, Jr.) OG: Olaivavega Ioane (Penn State Jr.); Ar'maj Reed-Adams (Texas A&M, Sr.) ? Jake Slaughter (Florida, Sr.) All-Purpose: Desmond Reid (Pitt, Sr.) K: Dominic Zvada (Michigan, Sr.) Defense EDGE: Dylan Stewart (South Carolina, Soph.); Colin Simmons (Texas, Soph.) DT: Peter Woods (Clemson, Jr.); Zane Durant (Penn State, Sr.) LB: Anthony Hill Jr. (Texas, Jr.); Whit Weeks (LSU, Jr.); Kyle Louis (Pitt, Jr.) CB: Leonard Moore (Notre Dame, Soph.); Jermod McCoy (Tennessee, Jr.) S: Caleb Downs (Ohio State, Jr.); Dillon Thieneman (Oregon, Jr.) DB: Michael Taaffe (Texas, Sr.) P: Brett Thorson (Georgia, Sr.) ? U.S. OPEN MIXED DOUBLES TAKES CENTER STAGE (U.S. Open) The most-hyped mixed doubles tournament in tennis history begins today in New York, where 32 of the sport's biggest stars will compete for a $1 million prize during U.S. Open qualifying week. New-look event: Mixed doubles is typically an afterthought at Grand Slams, relegated to the outer courts and played at off hours. But this year at the U.S. Open it's been condensed and transformed into a marquee event by inviting the world's best singles players to compete. The 32-player field features 14 men and women ranked in the top 10, including 10 major singles champions who've combined to win 54 major titles. That includes Jannik Sinner,* Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Iga Świątek and 45-year-old Venus Williams. How'd they convince all these superstars to compete? Money, of course. The winners will split a $1 million prize, five times as much as last year's champs took home. Even the runners-up will pocket a cool $400,000. What they're saying: "We get to play serious matches on Ashe, in front of packed arenas, and all the best players in the world are going to be playing," said Frances Tiafoe, who will team up with fellow American Madison Keys. "I'm going to be there doing media and all other kinds of stuff anyways, so might as well go out there and try to make some extra money." Condensed format: The action begins today with the first round and quarterfinals, and ends tomorrow night with the semifinals and championship. Matches are best-of-three sets, but first to four games instead of six. Third sets, if necessary, will just be a 10-point tiebreaker. Ok, so what's the catch? Well, not everyone is thrilled that the event looks like a glorified exhibition. Some feel the format devalues the Grand Slam trophy being contested, and doubles specialists aren't pleased that singles stars are encroaching on their territory. But it's not hard to see why they did it. I mean, when's the last time you read about a mixed doubles tournament? The last word: "One of the guiding forces for thinking and writing about ESPN [airing this event] is to always remember that the 'E' stands for entertainment," writes The Athletic's Richard Deitsch ($). "Here is the reality from the broadcaster perspective: This is a television show." *Sinner in doubt: Sinner (illness) is likely to withdraw from mixed doubles after retiring on Monday in Cincinnati to ensure he's ready for singles next week, though he has yet to make an announcement. ? SNAPSHOTS IN PHOTOS: ROBOT OLYMPICS (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) The inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games took place over the weekend in Beijing, where 280 teams from 16 countries spent three days competing at the National Speed Skating Oval, built for the 2022 Winter Olympics. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) These pint-sized robots — some larger than others, but many no bigger than a child — competed in various sports like soccer, kickboxing, dance and running, while also showing off their skills in non-athletic endeavors like delivering luggage, cleaning rooms and sorting medicine. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) The government-backed games were part of a larger initiative in China, where the country is investing heavily in robotics and artificial intelligence. Man - er - robot down! (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) Some of these robots put on genuinely impressive displays. But for every goal scored and punch landed, there were countless more trips, falls and other errors. Further reading: Before they can rule the world, Chinese robots need to master basic chores (WSJ) ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, AUG. 19 Tarik Skubal throws a warm-up pitch before a game last month. (Duane Burleson/Getty Images) ⚾️ Astros at Tigers | 6:40pm ET, TBS Two division leaders meet tonight in Detroit, where Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal (11-3, 2.42 ERA, 0.87 WHIP) toes the rubber for the home team and All-Star Hunter Brown (10-5, 2.45 ERA, 1.00 WHIP) takes the ball for the visitors. ? Lynx at Liberty | 7pm, NBA Last year's WNBA finalists meet for the fourth time in the past three weeks. First-place Minnesota (28-5) is 3-0 so far against third-place New York (21-13). More to watch: ? U.S. Open: Mixed doubles (11am, ESPN2/ESPNews/ESPN+) … First round and quarterfinals. ⚾️ LLWS: Day 7 (1-7pm, ESPN) … South Dakota, Washington, South Carolina, Hawaii, Aruba, Canada, Japan and Mexico take the field. ? QB WINS NFL TRIVIA Elite. (Jason Miller/Getty Images) Joe Flacco, 40, was named the Browns starting QB on Monday. Question: Flacco (105-86 career record) is one of four active QBs with at least 100 regular-season wins. Can you name the other three? Hint: Two changed teams this offseason. Answer at the bottom. ⚾️ CLASS OF 1939 HOF PROGRAM SETS AUCTION RECORD (Lelands Auctions) A program from the first National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1939 has sold at auction for $315,426, believed to be the most ever paid for a sports program. What makes it unique: The program is signed by all 11 living inductees who were present at the event: Babe Ruth Ty Cobb Walter Johnson Honus Wagner Cy Young Tris Speaker Grover Alexander Nap Lajoie George Sisler Eddie Collins Connie Mack In related news: Stored in a nuclear bunker, 1961 cereal box with Mickey Mantle card sells for $21,600 Trivia answer: Aaron Rodgers (153 wins), Russell Wilson (121) and Matthew Stafford (108) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 19, 2025 Author Members Posted August 19, 2025 > MSNBC to change name to MSNOW, which stands for "My Source for News, Opinion, and the World," as part of Comcast's spinoff from NBCUniversal (More) > Texas and Penn State lead all schools with three players apiece selected to college football's AP Preseason All-America team, with the regular season set to begin Saturday (More) > Final defendant in Matthew Perry's October 2023 drug overdose case, the "Ketamine Queen," pleads guilty to five federal charges, including ketamine distribution (More) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 20, 2025 Author Members Posted August 20, 2025 > Nexstar, the media giant with 200 owned or partner TV stations, purchases rival Tegna in $6.2B deal; newly combined company's stations will cover 80% of TV households in the US (More) > Dr. Phil's media company sued by their distribution partner for alleged fraud and breach of contract over 10-year, $500M deal (More) > "Stranger Things" creators Matt and Ross Duffer will depart Netflix in April 2026 after signing four-year deal with Paramount for exclusive rights to their upcoming projects (More) | How Netflix became the dominant streaming service (1440 Topics) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 21, 2025 Author Members Posted August 21, 2025 ? Good morning! Happy Hump Day. In today's edition: MLB scoop, biggest winning bets in U.S. history, Olson passes Rose, Auburn adds four titles, John Wall calls it quits, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports… ? ICYMI headlineS ⚾️ Yankees bash nine homers (again): The Yankees hit nine home runs in their 13-3 rout of the Rays, matching a franchise record set earlier this year. There have been only four times in MLB history that a team has hit at least nine HR in a game; the 2025 Yankees have half of them. ? Liberty avoid the sweep: The Liberty beat the Lynx, 85-75, to avoid the four-game season sweep in their finals rematch after dropping the first three games to Minnesota. ? Jones named QB1: The Colts named newcomer Daniel Jones as their starting QB over Anthony Richardson, who's struggled with health and consistency since Indy drafted him fourth overall in 2023. ? Guilty as charged: Former Heat security guard Marcos Thomas Perez pleaded guilty to stealing and selling nearly $2 million worth of memorabilia when he worked for the team from 2016-21. He faces up to 10 years in prison. ⚽️ Record transfer: The Orlando Pride are finalizing a deal to sign Mexican forward Lizbeth Ovalle from Tigres UANL for a $1.5 million transfer fee — the largest in women's soccer history. ? MUSICAL CHAIRS SCOOP: MLB MEDIA DEALS Could Apple be getting out of the MLB business? Could NBC soon have "Sunday Night Baseball" to add to "Sunday Night Football" and "Sunday Night Basketball"? That's what I'm hearing, according to trusted sources. Plus: MLB.TV appears to be headed to ESPN, which would give Disney an intriguing new asset (all out-of-market games) to potentially add to its DTC offering that launches tomorrow. Sources say Netflix will be the new home of the Home Run Derby, which would help the event reach a more global audience. Bloomberg first reported Netflix's potential involvement last week. Bottom line: Nothing has been finalized, so things could still change. Apple's deal runs through 2028 and they may not be going anywhere; the Friday night package is the part I've gotten the least clarity on. But sources say the MLB.TV and Netflix deals are all but certain and could be announced in the coming days. ? SPORTS GAMBLING TOP 3 BIGGEST WINNING BETS IN U.S. HISTORY (Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images) The U.S. now has legal sports betting in 40 states (with Missouri set to come online later this year) thanks to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in May 2018. The increase in available outlets for big bettors and the prevalence of social media has led to an increase in large wagers reported by different sportsbooks. Previously, those wagers could (legally) be made only in Nevada, and speaking with many veteran Vegas bookmakers for this story, there certainly were plenty of seven-figure wagers made before legalization. However, there's little doubt that we hear more about them in the present era of sports betting. And there have been plenty of seven-figure parlay wins off of smaller wagers, as well. For this article, though, we're focusing on the largest reported winning wagers in U.S. sports betting history — all of which have happened since 2018. And wouldn't you know it, the largest of all comes from just a few months ago. 1. $8 million on Thunder (-700) to win 2024-25 NBA championship Date: June 5, 2025 Sportsbook: BetMGM State placed: Ohio Bet won: $1.14 million How it happened: Placed a few hours before tipoff of Game 1, a bettor in Ohio had serious conviction on the Thunder — and with good reason, as Oklahoma City was one of the largest NBA Finals favorites since 1968. This bettor had a much bigger sweat than anticipated, as Indiana pushed the series to the limit before the Thunder prevailed, 103-91, in Game 7. 2. $3.46M on Buccaneers +3.5 (-127) in Super Bowl LV Date: Feb. 3, 2021 Sportsbook: DraftKings State placed: Colorado Bet won: $2.72 million How it happened: Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale — the Houston furniture salesman known for placing large sports bets as hedges for promotions — flew into Colorado Springs, logged onto the DraftKings mobile app and wagered a cool $3.46 million on Tom Brady's Buccaneers to beat Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl. McIngvale paid a little extra juice to move the line from Bucs +3 to +3.5, which didn't end up mattering. Final score: Bucs 31, Chiefs 9. 3. $3.1M on Eagles ML (-700) to beat Panthers in Week 14 Date: Dec. 5, 2024 Sportsbook: Circa Sports State placed: Kentucky Bet won: $442,857 How it happened: One bettor plopped down $3.1 million on Jalen Hurts' Eagles (10-2 record at the time) on a Thursday to simply defeat Bryce Young's Panthers (3-9 record at the time) on that Sunday. It's thought to be one of the biggest wagers ever on a regular-season NFL game. The Eagles closed as 13.5-point favorites, but were winning only 14-10 at halftime and actually were losing 16-14 heading into the fourth quarter. They ended up winning, 22-16. New on Yahoo Sports: We just launched to a new content hub dedicated to sports betting news and analysis. ⚾️ IRON MAN OLSON PASSES ROSE (Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) Braves 1B Matt Olson played in his 746th consecutive game on Tuesday, passing Pete Rose for the 12th-longest streak in MLB history. Cal Ripken Jr: 2,632 games (1982-98) Lou Gehrig: 2,130 games (1925-39) Everett Scott: 1,307 games (1916-25) Steve Garvey: 1,207 games (1975-83) Miguel Tejada: 1,152 games (2000-07) Billy Williams: 1,117 games (1963-70) Joe Sewell: 1,103 games (1922-30) Stan Musial: 895 games (1952-57) Eddie Yost: 829 games (1949-55) Gus Suhr: 822 games (1931-37) Nellie Fox: 798 games (1955-60) Olson: 746 games (2021-present) Catch him if you can… Just how crazy was Ripken's streak? Olson, whose own streak began in May 2021, would need to play every game from now until the middle of the 2037 season (when he'll be 43) to catch the Orioles legend. ? WAR EAGLE AUBURN CLAIMS FOUR NEW TITLES The 2004 Auburn Tigers walk onto the field before the SEC title game. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images) Auburn will now recognize itself as a nine-time football national champion, adding four new titles (1910, 1914, 1958, 2004) to the five the Tigers already claimed (1913, 1957, 1983, 1993, 2010). From Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee: Auburn can justify the new rings on two fronts: first, because pre-21st-century college football was a chaotic nest of competing rankings and ad hoc justifications, and second, because Alabama already went there. Back in the 1980s, an Alabama sports information director went diving in the record books and in one swoop, awarded Alabama five pre-Bear Bryant-era titles. Now, granted, there's the question of an incredibly slippery slope here. If Auburn is going to claim a national title for 2004, why can't Utah — which also went undefeated at 12-0 that year — also claim one? Why couldn't 2017 Central Florida or 2023 Florida State, which, like 2004 Auburn, were both left out of the postseason dance despite going undefeated? Yes, Auburn's ring-grab could well set off a new wave of schools retroactively seeking to claim national titles won by their great-grandfathers. We could see new banners hanging in stadiums all across the country as enterprising researchers whip up dissertation-length justifications for why their school deserves titles from the days before cars or TV. But so what? We now have in place a means of determining, once and for all, a season's indisputable national champion. And as college football sins go, a bit of reapportioned valor ranks pretty low on the list. We've got to hold onto something to argue about, after all. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, AUG. 20 Errani and Vavassori celebrate during their first-round win on Tuesday. (Elsa/Getty Images) ? US Open, Mixed Doubles | 7pm ET, ESPN2 Defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori — the only traditional mixed doubles team in the field — made it back to the semifinals, where they'll face Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison. The other semifinal pits Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper against Iga Świątek and Casper Ruud, with the final rounding out the evening. ⚾️ LLWS | 1pm, ESPN The winner of Venezuela and Taiwan (1pm) advances to the international championship, while the loser faces the winner of Aruba vs. Japan (5pm) tomorrow for the other spot. Likewise, the winner of Nevada vs. Connecticut (3pm) advances to the U.S. championship, while the loser faces the winner of South Dakota vs. South Carolina (7pm) tomorrow for the other spot. More to watch: ⚽️ Leagues Cup: Inter Miami vs. Tigres UANL (8pm, FS1); Toluca vs. Orlando City (9pm, Apple); Seattle Sounders vs. Puebla (11pm, FS1); LA Galaxy vs. Pachuca (11:45pm, Apple) … Quarterfinals. ? U.S. Open: Qualifying (11am, ESPN2) … Former Top 25 stars Zhang Shuai, Daniel Evans, Nikoloz Basilashvili and Christian Garin are among the seeds in the play-in tournament. ? WILDCATS NBA TRIVIA (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) John Wall announced his retirement on Tuesday after 11 NBA seasons. Question: In 2010, Wall became the first of three players drafted No. 1 overall out of Kentucky. Can you name the other two? Hint: Bigs. Answer at the bottom. ? JERRY'S WORLD NOW STREAMING: "AMERICA'S TEAM" (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP Photo) "America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys" premiered Tuesday on Netflix, and the eight-part docuseries is already being compared to "The Last Dance." From Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee: "America's Team" is, in so many ways, the embodiment of Jerry Jones' outsize ego and persona. It begins with the vibe of a Taylor Sheridan series like "Yellowstone" or "Landman" — sweeping billionaire's-eye views from the window of a helicopter. Jones craftily recounts his early days as an Arkansas oilman: "I was really good at drilling oil wells, and I was really good at borrowing money." Something to consider: Would you want Jones to own your football team? Trivia answer: Anthony Davis (2012) and Karl-Anthony Towns (2015) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 21, 2025 Author Members Posted August 21, 2025 > The 2025 PGA Tour Championship kicks off today for the FedEx Cup title and $10M top prize (More) | ... and Tiger Woods to chair committee to look at major structural changes to the PGA Tour (More) > ESPN's new app, which will include livestreams of all 12 of the network's channels, launches today at $29.99/month (More) | ... and the streaming service will host its first WWE event Sept. 20, ahead of the scheduled 2026 launch (More) > Former boxing champ Julio César Chávez Jr. deported over alleged ties to Mexican drug cartels (More) | YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul to face WBA world champ Gervonta Davis on Netflix Nov. 14 (More) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 22, 2025 Author Members Posted August 22, 2025 ? Good morning! Yahoo Sports is now a TV channel. In today's edition: Fantasy Football preview, batting average is back, historic soccer debut, ranking NBA executives, the pickleball boom, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports… ? ICYMI headlineS ? Back-to-back champs: Defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the only traditional mixed doubles team in a field of singles stars, beat Iga Świątek and Casper Ruud to win the revamped U.S. Open event and claim its $1 million grand prize. ? Chiefs shooting scare: Someone fired a shot into Andy Reid's office in 2024 while he was inside, the Kansas City Star reports. The Chiefs head coach was uninjured, but he now sits behind bulletproof glass. ⚾️ Epic LLWS comeback: South Carolina trailed South Dakota, 6-1, in the final inning before rallying for a 7-6 walk-off victory to keep their title hopes alive. ? Attendance record: The WNBA has broken its single-season attendance record set back in 2002, with nearly 2.5 million fans across 226 games. And there are still three more weeks to add to that tally. ? CFP tweaks criteria: The College Football Playoff Selection Committee has adjusted its schedule strength metric "to apply greater weight to games against strong opponents." In other words: good wins will count for more and "good" losses will count against you less. ? YAHOO FANTASY FANTASY FOOTBALL IS (ALMOST) HERE! (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports) The NFL season kicks off two weeks from today (!!), which for the fantasy players among us means the draft is right around the corner. But what's your strategy? Who are you avoiding early and targeting late? For that and much more, here's our fantasy football mega-preview. Player rankings: Let's start with a basic lay of the land. Here are the top 20 players based on half-PPR scoring as ranked by Yahoo Sports' Scott Pianowski, Justin Boone and Matt Harmon. Ja'Marr Chase (WR, Bengals) Bijan Robinson (RB, Falcons) Saquon Barkley (RB, Eagles) Jahmyr Gibbs (RB, Lions) Justin Jefferson (WR, Vikings) CeeDee Lamb (WR, Cowboys) Christian McCaffrey (RB, 49ers) Nico Collins (WR, Texans) Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR, Lions) Malik Nabers (WR, Giants) Derrick Henry (RB, Ravens) Brian Thomas Jr. (WR, Jaguars) Drake London (WR, Falcons) Ashton Jeanty (RB, Raiders) Josh Jacobs (RB, Packers) De'Von Achane (RB, Dolphins) Puka Nacua (WR, Rams) Bucky Irving (RB, Bucs) Jonathan Taylor (RB, Colts) Chase Brown (RB, Bengals) If only fantasy were so simple. You aren't likely to be able to draft more than two of those guys, so now it's time to talk strategy. (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports) How (and who) to draft: There's a lot of "here's what the first round of your draft should look like" content out there, but those aren't terribly helpful. Leagues aren't won in the first round; they're won by snagging undervalued guys in the middle rounds, identifying sleepers in the late rounds, and hitting on a few gut-instinct, "I just think this is their year" guys. Sleepers: From Geno Smith and Jacory Croskey-Merritt to Keon Coleman and Chig Okonkwo, here are some of our favorite sleepers at QB, RB, WR and TE. Breakouts: Panthers QB Bryce Young, Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco and Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. headline our 2025 All-Breakout team. Regression candidates: Remember, regression doesn't have to be negative; it's just a return — up or down — to the mean. Saquon Barkley surely won't have another all-time great season, and Jordan Love should improve drastically from his QB17 finish last year. Position-by-position: Each season provides a different landscape when it comes to positional depth and value. What does this year's look like? QB: There are pros and cons to taking a signal-caller in the early, middle or late rounds. Whether you're targeting Lamar Jackson, settling on Dak Prescott or hoping for a bounce-back from Justin Herbert, here's how to approach drafting your QB. WR: The receiver revolution has reached another gear, as the position looks deeper than ever this season. Pay particularly close attention to these four guys whose situations or roles have improved immensely. RB: The hero-RB approach — drafting a star early, then waiting to add to your backfield — may not be the best move this year. Consider using two of your first 4-5 picks on RBs. TE: If you don't land one of the "Big Three" (Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, George Kittle), you'd be better served throwing a dart at someone in the later rounds than settling for one of the many low-ceiling guys in the middle rounds. ⚾️ BASE KNOCKS BATTING AVERAGE IS MAKING A COMEBACK Blue Jays SS Bo Bichette leads the majors in hits. Seems important! (Nic Antaya/Getty Images) Batting average has fallen out of favor in recent years as the rise of analytics has shown other stats are more predictive of success. But a quick look at the leaderboard begs the question: Is it making a comeback? Hits equal wins: Five of the six division leaders are currently ranked in the top six for batting average league-wide. And the sixth isn't too far behind, still ranked in the top 12. Blue Jays (AL East): .267 (1st in MLB) Brewers (NL Central): .258 (2nd) Phillies (NL East): .257 (3rd) Dodgers (NL West): .254 (t-4th) Astros (AL West): .253 (6th) Tigers (AL Central): .249 (t-12th) Plus: Four of the other six current playoff teams are also in the top 12: Red Sox (.252, 7th); Padres (.251, t-8th); Yankees (.251, t-8th); Cubs (.249, t-12th). ⚽️ INTERNATIONAL DEBUT THE MARSHALL ISLANDS ARE ON THE BOARD Their first official squad photo. (Marshall Islands Soccer Federation) The Marshall Islands, the last UN-recognized nation on earth without a soccer team, has finally shed itself of that ignominious title. 0-2, but on the board: The tiny Pacific nation made its international soccer debut last week at the Outrigger Challenge Cup in Springdale, Arkansas.* That they lost both matches — 4-0 to the U.S. Virgin Islands and 3-2 to Turks and Caicos — was neither surprising nor important in the grand scheme of things. "Some of our squad hadn't played 11v11 before, some had never played in a real match before," the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation (MISF) wrote after the tournament. "And yet, in our second match ever, we went toe-to-toe with a full FIFA member for 90 minutes. Proud doesn't even begin to describe it." A long time coming: The small territory in the North Pacific, comprising five main islands and 30 coral atolls between Hawaii and Australia, didn't have a single full-size soccer pitch even four years ago, notes The Athletic ($). That changed in 2020 when the MISF was founded with the dual goal of earning FIFA recognition and raising climate change awareness: 40% of Majuro, the capital island, is projected to be underwater by 2030. By 2022, the federation had hired a technical director: an Englishman named Lloyd Owers who is also now the manager. By 2023, soccer had been added to the nationwide curriculum in schools. Fun fact: The Marshall Islands may not be recognized by FIFA yet, but they do have an ELO rating, and it's not even in last place! In fact, they're ranked ahead of six other nations and territories (out of 242): Kiribati, Tonga, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau and Eastern Samoa. *Why Arkansas? Due to a quirk of immigration, Northwest Arkansas has the largest Marshallese population (15,000) outside of the nation itself (40,000). ? GO DEEPER GOOD READS (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) ? Ben Rohrbach: The Danny Ainge System: Ranking every NBA executive Using baseball's Sabermetrics, we categorized every trade, draft pick and free agent signing as a strikeout, walk, single, double, triple or home run, creating a rating (or OPS) of each executive. (Stefan Milic/Yahoo Sports) ? Nick Bromberg: College football preseason rankings How will the upcoming season shake out? Here's our preseason Top 25, with previews for every team. Rolapp speaks with the media on Wednesday. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) ⛳️ Jay Busbee: New PGA Tour CEO looks to a future of 'significant change' that may not include LIV Golf Brian Rolapp has only been on the job for 18 days, but he's clearly focused on a philosophy that change is necessary, and change is coming. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, AUG. 21 Can anyone catch Scottie? (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) ⛳️ Tour Championship | 11am ET, ESPN+; 1pm, Golf 30 golfers will tee it up at East Lake (Atlanta) for the season finale, which unlike in recent years will not feature the maligned starting-strokes format. Instead, everyone starts at even par as they compete for a gargantuan $40 million purse, which includes a whopping $10 million for the winner, at least $1 million for the top eight and $355,000 for finishing in dead last. ⚾️ Red Sox at Yankees | 7:15pm, Fox The AL East rivals begin their third series of the season tonight in the Bronx — a four-game set with potentially huge implications. New York (69-57) and Boston (68-59) are currently separated by 1.5 games in the tight AL wild card race. ⚾️ LLWS | 3pm, ESPN We've almost reached the end of the 78th edition of the Little League World Series. Chinese Taipei awaits the winner of Venezuela vs. Aruba (3pm) in the international championship; Connecticut awaits the winner of Nevada vs. South Carolina (7pm) in the U.S. championship. More to watch: ? NFL Preseason: Steelers at Panthers (7pm, NFL); Patriots at Giants (8pm, Prime) … The final week of preseason kicks off. ? WNBA: Sky at Liberty (7pm, Prime); Mercury at Aces (10pm, Prime) … The Aces have won eight straight to climb into a tie for fourth place. Are they contenders? ⚽️ NWSL: Angel City vs. Orlando Pride (10:30pm, CBSSN) … Orlando's Barbra Banda ranks third in goals (8); Angel City's Riley Tiernan (7) ranks fourth. ? WORLDWIDE LEADER ESPN TRIVIA (Mike Windle/Getty Images for ESPN) ESPN debuts its new streaming service today, as the company breaks away from its cable roots and goes direct-to-consumer. Question: What year did ESPN launch as a cable channel? 1975 1979 1984 1990 Answer at the bottom. ??? CHARTED: THE PICKLEBALL BOOM (Derek Thompson) In 2019, pickleball was half as popular as badminton. Last year, it was more popular than baseball. What does its rise tell us about fads, fitness and culture? Trivia answer: 1979 Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 22, 2025 Author Members Posted August 22, 2025 > The 2025 college football season kicks off tomorrow with a limited slate of Week 0 games, including No. 17 Kansas State taking on No. 22 Iowa State (12 pm ET, ESPN) from Dublin, Ireland (More) > Rapper Lil Nas X is arrested and hospitalized after walking in Los Angeles in only underwear, allegedly punching an officer twice in the face (More) > The 2025 US Open tennis championships begin this weekend in New York City (More) | See complete women's bracket (More) | ... and men's bracket (More) Bruce Springsteen: Tomorrow's 1440 Society & Culture newsletter traces the life and legendary career of "the Boss." Subscribe here! Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 22, 2025 Author Members Posted August 22, 2025 ? Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it. In today's edition: Rich Rod's homecoming, Giants crush Patriots, SEC makes schedule change, D-Rose forever, shopping cart archery, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. ? COUNTRY ROADS HOW RICH ROD MADE HIS WAY BACK (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) Rich Rodriguez beats a punching bag each morning, eats ketchup on his steak and plans to resurrect WVU by teaching a "soft" generation a hard edge. Once vilified by his own people, the native son has returned home. From Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger: In January, at the request of the townsfolk in Grant Town, West Virginia, Charlie Rosic found himself digging for a street sign in the city's storage room. Buried beneath some boxes and covered in dust from more than a decade of abandonment, the town's mayor successfully unearthed the relic. The sign is simple and small, about only 18 inches across. In green font against a white backdrop, four words scrawl across its face. HOME OF RICH RODRIGUEZ No picture. No message. Not even a punctuation or nifty design. Perhaps it is more than enough that the sign has reappeared at all. In 2007, after Rich Rodriguez left West Virginia for Michigan, the folks here vandalized the original, more grandiose sign that marks his birthplace. "They tore it down and destroyed it. We don't know who did it or where it is," Rosic said. "When Mr. Rodriguez left in his midnight runaway, there was a bunch of people mad at him." Earlier this year, Rosic, like any good mayor, followed the instruction of his constituents: They wanted the smaller sign restored to its rightful place upon the rehiring of Rodriguez last December in Morgantown. Now, at the town's eastern entrance, along Paw Paw Creek Road, is a reminder of this tiny municipality's most famous native son. And, yes, Rich Rodriguez himself has heard the news. "They took that son of a bitch down," he says with a laugh, "and then they put it back up!" Welcome home, Rich Rod. He's back, returning to a place he left some 17 years ago in a messy divorce that featured dueling lawsuits, hurt feelings, broken promises and, now years later, public acknowledgements of regret. Time heals wounds — at least most of them. Grant Town's restoration of that sign is emblematic of a state that has forgiven, but not forgotten — something Rodriguez has learned in the first nine months back. During spring speaking engagements and summer tours across the state, he's made clear at least one thing. "It was a mistake to leave," he says in an extended interview with Yahoo Sports in his office. "I shouldn't have left." This is a love story gone bad — a man who felt unfairly vilified by his own people; a people who felt cruelly betrayed by a man. Seventeen years later, they are reunited, both seeking the same successful results as their previous time together. "When it works, it'll be one of the all-time great redemption stories," athletic director Wren Baker said. ? SNAPSHOTS PHOTOS OF THE WEEK (Ishika Samant/Getty Images) East Rutherford, N.J. — The Giants' trio of backup QBs looked great in Thursday's 42-10 win over the Patriots. Tommy DeVito, Jaxson Dart and Jameis Winston tossed a combined 5 TDs and the G-Men finished preseason undefeated. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) Denver — Shohei Ohtani warms up before a game at Coors Field. (Deng Daoli/VCG via Getty Images) Zhangjiajie, China — Luxembourg's Archie Williams competes during Wednesday's "Slackline King" Championship, where he bested 19 competitors from around the globe to win the title. (Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images) Belgrade, Serbia — Nikola Jokić and Serbia dominated Luka Dončić and Slovenia on Thursday in their final friendly before EuroBasket begins. ? STATS DU JOUR BY THE NUMBERS Arthur Ashe Stadium during last year's U.S. Open. (Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images) ? $90 million The 2025 U.S. Open — whose main draw begins Sunday — features a $90 million purse, by far the largest in tennis history and a 20% increase over last year's ($75M). That includes a record $5 million each for the men's and women's singles champions. ? 9 games The SEC will adopt a nine-game conference schedule beginning in 2026, a long-awaited move that will bring it even with the Big Ten and Big 12 (and likely force the ACC to follow suit). The nine-game schedule will follow a "3-6" model, where each school plays three permanent opponents and six rotating opponents each year. ⚾️ 4 straight wins Braves righty Hurston Waldrep is just the second rookie in MLB's modern era (since 1901) to earn a win in each of his first four appearances of a season while allowing 1 run or fewer in each. The other? Fernando Valenzuela in 1981. The 23-year-old righty is 4-0 with a 0.73 ERA. ? 44 points Paige Bueckers erupted for 44 points on Wednesday on a ridiculous 17-21 from the field, including a perfect 4-4 from long range. She's just the third rookie ever with a 40-point game (Cynthia Cooper, Candace Parker), and the first player in WNBA history to score 40 points on 80+ FG%. ? 30.2% Ken Griffey Jr. has not played in a game since May 2010. Outside of a recent appearance as a photographer working at the Masters, "The Kid" has not exactly been at the forefront of the zeitgeist. Yet, in 2025, Griffey's card market is surging (up 30.2% over the last year) — and it is not clear why. ? VIEWING GUIDE WEEKEND WATCHLIST Last year's season-opener in Dublin between FSU and Georgia Tech. (Ben McShane/Sportsfile via Getty Images) ? Week 0 | Sat. 12-7:30pm ET The college football season kicks off on Saturday with "Week 0," which features four FBS matchups, headlined by the season-opener in Dublin, Ireland, between two ranked opponents. No. 17 Kansas State (-3) vs. No. 22 Iowa State (12pm, ESPN) Fresno State (+12.5) at Kansas (6:30pm, Fox) Sam Houston (+10.5) at Western Kentucky (7pm, CBSSN) Stanford (+2.5) at Hawaii (7:30pm, CBS) ⛳️ Tour Championship | Fri-Sun, ESPN+/Peacock/Golf/NBC Russell Henley (-9) leads after Round 1 at East Lake in the season finale. Right on his heels? Who else but Scottie Scheffler (-7). ? U.S. Open | Sun. 11am, ABC/ESPN2 The 145th edition of the U.S. Open begins on Sunday in New York, where 256 men and women will compete in the season's fourth and final Grand Slam. ⚾️ Rivalry Weekend | Fri-Sun, Prime/MLB/ESPN Two huge rivalries headline this weekend's MLB action, as the Yankees host the Red Sox on the east coast (Fri. 7pm, Prime; Sat 1pm, MLB; Sun. 7pm, ESPN) and the Padres host the Dodgers out west (Fri. 10pm, MLB; Sat. 8:40pm, FS1; Sun. 4pm, MLB). ⚾️ LLWS | Sat-Sun, ABC It all comes down to this. Chinese Taipei and Aruba play tomorrow for the international championship (12:30pm), followed by Connecticut vs. Nevada for the U.S. championship (3:30pm). Then, on Sunday, the winners face off in the grand finale (3pm). ? Daytona International Speedway | Sat. 7:30pm, NBC The last two playoff spots (of 16 total) are up for grabs entering the final race of the regular season, with Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman the likeliest drivers to claim them. For the other 20 drivers, only a victory in Daytona can get them into the postseason. ? PLL, Quarterfinals | Sat. 6pm, ESPN+ The playoffs begin in Minneapolis, where the Philadelphia Waterdogs face the Maryland Whipsnakes in one quarterfinal (6pm) and the Carolina Chaos take on the California Redwoods in the other (8:30pm). The winners advance to next week's semifinals, where the No. 1 seed Denver Outlaws and No. 2 seed New York Atlas await. More to watch: ? Vuelta a España: Stages 1-2 (Sat-Sun, Peacock) … The season's third and final Grand Tour. ? NFL: Preseason Week 3 (Fri-Sun, CBS/NFL) … Final weekend. ? WNBA: Lynx at Fever (Fri. 7:30pm, ION); Liberty at Dream (Sat. 2pm, CBS); Fever at Lynx (Sun. 7pm, CBSSN) … Caitlin Clark (groin, ankle) has missed the last 13 games and counting. ⚽️ Premier League: West Ham vs. Chelsea (Fri. 3pm, USA); Man City vs. Tottenham (Sat. 7:30am, USA) … Week 2. ⚽️ Bundesliga: Bayern Munich vs. RB Leipzig (Fri. 2:30pm, ESPN2) … Week 1. ⛳️ LIV: Michigan (Fri-Sun, Fox/FS1) … The season concludes with the Team Championship outside Detroit. ? NCAA Volleyball: No. 1 Nebraska vs. No. 3 Pitt (Fri. 7pm, Fox) … The season-opening showcase features nine ranked teams, including the top three. ? IndyCar: Milwaukee (Sun. 2pm, Fox) … Penultimate race of the season. ? NO. 1 FOREVER NBA TRIVIA No other Bull will ever wear No. 1 again. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) The Bulls will retire Derrick Rose's jersey in a ceremony this January, the team announced Thursday. Question: Rose is one of just two NBA players to win MVP in their age-22 season. Can you name the other? Hint: 1968-69. Answer at the bottom. ? MEANWHILE, IN GERMANY... SHOPPING CART ARCHERY (Giphy) We've all had a little fun returning shopping carts after a trip to the store, right? You pack up the groceries, close the trunk, see the cart corral across the parking lot and let it fly. Well, a German game show called "Schlag den Star" turned it into a competition. Trivia answer: Wes Unseld (Baltimore Bullets) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 24, 2025 Author Members Posted August 24, 2025 Thrills and Spills What are the X Games? The X Games are an annual extreme sports competition featuring top athletes in events like skateboarding, BMX, motocross, and snowboarding. Founded by ESPN in 1995 to better reach young audiences, the first competition—then called the “Extreme Games”—took place in Rhode Island and Vermont. The series now includes at least two major editions each year—one summer and one winter—plus additional international events, each featuring dozens of competitions across multiple disciplines. Over the years, it has become a proving ground for trailblazing sporting achievements, debuting tricks and performances that have redefined what’s possible in action sports (like skater Tony Hawk's famous 900-degree spin). The event’s focus on extreme performances is primed to generate viral highlight clips on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, routinely amassing millions of views beyond traditional broadcasts. ... Read our full deep dive on the competition here. Also, check out ... > Iconic skater Tony Hawk is not often recognized in public. (More) > How a Winter X Games course is built. (More) > The X Games rode the "extreme" marketing wave in the 1990s. (More) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 24, 2025 Author Members Posted August 24, 2025 ? Sports streaming's new era Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios The rollout of ESPN and Fox's new streaming services this week represents a landmark moment for the sports industry, one where fans can finally start to expect a better bang for their buck, Axios' Sara Fischer reports. Why it matters: Sports streaming was supposed to make it easier for fans to watch their favorite teams. But over the past two decades, live rights became unwieldy and expensive. ? State of play: On Thursday, ESPN and Fox both unveiled their highly anticipated new direct-to-consumer services, which include all sports currently available to their cable customers. Despite their rivalry, the companies will offer consumers a chance to buy ESPN and Fox One together in a $39.99 per month bundle, starting Oct. 2. ESPN's service includes a slew of new fan-centric features, like an in-app merchandise store powered by Fanatics, data-filled portals linked to ESPN Bet and ESPN Fantasy and a multi-view option that allows fans to watch multiple live games at once. Fox One provides multi-view functionality and new features like unlimited storage for livestream recordings and short clips to help users catch up on games. More on Fox One ... More on ESPN's direct-to-consumer service + enhanced app. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 25, 2025 Author Members Posted August 25, 2025 > Tommy Fleetwood wins 2025 PGA Tour Championship to take FedEx Cup title and $10M top prize (More) > Jerry Adler, actor best known for starring role in "The Sopranos," dies at age 96 (More) > Chinese Taipei tops Nevada 7-0 to win first Little League World Series title since 2017 (More) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 25, 2025 Author Members Posted August 25, 2025 ? Good morning! Welcome back. In today's edition: Victory at last, the most expensive sports card ever sold, Raleigh sets HR record, Bay FC sets attendance record, Chinese Taipei wins LLWS, college football kicks off, Baker's Dozen, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports… ? ICYMI headlineS ? MJ/Kobe card sets record: A 2007-08 Upper Deck card featuring game-worn jersey patches and autographs of both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant sold at auction on Saturday for $12.9 million, making it the most expensive sports card ever sold. ? That's a wrap on preseason: The Ravens, Browns, Broncos and Giants went a perfect 3-0 during NFL preseason, which came to a close on Sunday. Teams have until tomorrow afternoon to cut their rosters down to 53 players. ⚾️ Phillies lose ace: NL Cy Young candidate Zack Wheeler will miss the rest of the season with venous thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS), which occurs when a vein under the collarbone is compressed and damaged. He's expected to undergo surgery and miss 6-8 months. ? Underwood wins QB1 job: Five-star recruit Bryce Underwood is expected to be named Michigan's starting QB, per multiple reports. The Michigan native would be just the fourth true freshman to start a Wolverines season opener, joining Tate Forcier (2009), Chad Henne (2004) and Rick Leach (1975). ? "Field of Dreams" is back: MLB will return to Dyersville, Iowa, next season for the third "Field of Dreams Game" on the site made famous by the 1989 film. The Phillies will play the Twins in the showcase event, which follows White Sox vs. Yankees in 2021 and Cubs vs. Reds in 2022. ⛳️ TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP FLEETWOOD, FINALLY! A champion at last. (Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) 164 starts later, Tommy Fleetwood is finally — finally — a PGA Tour champion. Victory at last: The 34-year-old Englishman, famously among the Tour's best players without a win, finished three strokes clear of the field on Sunday at East Lake to claim the season-ending Tour Championship and its massive $10 million prize. "In a year where golf delivered so many feel good finishes," writes Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee, "this was one of the best." By the numbers: Fleetwood has enjoyed quite the career on Tour, despite this being his first time hoisting a trophy. He'd earned $33.4 million entering Sunday, the most of any player without a victory, and he'd made the cut in 139 of his first 163 starts (85%), including 44 top-10 finishes and six runners-up. He was equally dominant these last few weeks, shooting in the 60s for all 12 rounds of the playoffs and becoming the first golfer to be in the top six on the leaderboard after every single round of the playoffs. Fleetwood's payday vaulted him all the way to second on the 2025 money list behind Scottie Scheffler, who didn't have his best stuff this weekend but still carded his 14th straight top-eight finish. Ridiculous. What he's saying: "When you've lost it so many times, three strokes on the last doesn't seem like that many," said Fleetwood, painfully aware of how many close calls he's had. "This is just, hopefully, one win — the first of many to come. You can't win plenty if you don't win the first one." Coming up: Fleetwood will be on Team Europe for next month's Ryder Cup, with rosters set to be finalized in the coming days. Keegan Bradley, who finished T7 at East Lake, will announce his captain's picks for the U.S. team on Wednesday; will he pick himself? ⚾️ OVER THE FENCE RALEIGH SETS NEW HR MARK (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports) Cal Raleigh hit his 48th and 49th home runs of the year on Sunday to break Salvador Perez's single-season record for the most homers by a primary catcher (min. 75% of games caught). And it's not even September! HR record by position: LF: Barry Bonds, 73 (2001) 1B: Mark McGwire, 70 (1998) RF: Sammy Sosa, 66 (1998) CF: Aaron Judge, 58 (2024) SS: Alex Rodriguez, 57 (2002) 3B: Alex Rodriguez, 54 (2007) DH: David Ortiz/Shohei Ohtani, 54 (2006, 2024) ? Cal Raleigh, 49 and counting (2025) 2B: Marcus Semien, 45 (2021) P: Wes Ferrell, 9 (1931) Chasing Judge: Raleigh is on pace for 62 long balls, which would tie the AL record set by Aaron Judge three years ago. "Big Dumper" is also chasing Judge in the AL MVP race, with the Yankees' captain currently favored (-155 at BetMGM) over the Mariners' backstop (+105). ?? SNAPSHOTS PHOTOS ACROSS AMERICA (Lachlan Cunningham/NWSL via Getty Images) San Francisco — A sold-out crowd of 40,091 descended on Oracle Park (home of the Giants) on Saturday to watch Bay FC host the Washington Spirit, making it the most-attended women's professional sporting event in U.S. history. The bar has been raised: "Maybe next we can play at NFL stadiums," said Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune after the game. "I feel like this is just the beginning." (Patrick Smith/Getty Images) South Williamsport, Pennsylvania — Chinese Taipei blanked Nevada, 7-0, on Sunday to win its first Little League World Series title since 1996 and 18th overall, the most of any country besides the U.S. Japan has the next most titles, with 11. Streak snapped: American teams had won the past six LLWS titles, with Hawaii claiming two championships (2018, 2022) and Louisiana (2019), Michigan (2021), California (2023) and Florida (2024) each claiming one. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images) Daytona Beach, Florida — The NASCAR Cup Series regular season concluded on Sunday at Daytona, where Ryan Blaney won in a photo finish to set the stage for the playoffs. Playoff field: Kyle Larson, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Blaney, Christopher Bell, Shane van Gisbergen, Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe are the top eight seeds in the 16-driver field. (Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images for International Tennis Hall of Fame) Newport, Rhode Island — Maria Sharapova was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday, and Serena Williams made a surprise appearance to present her longtime rival with the ultimate career honor. From rivals to friends: "We had our differences. To the world, we looked miles apart, but the truth is we weren't," said Williams during her speech. "What started as a rivalry turned into an enormous amount of respect, and what grew from respect has turned to friendship." ? SNAPSHOTS PHOTOS AROUND THE WORLD (Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images) ?? Dublin, Ireland — No. 22 Iowa State opened the season with a narrow 24-21 victory over No. 17 Kansas State in the 109th edition of their Farmageddon rivalry series, sealing the game with a clutch fourth-down conversion in the waning minutes. More from Week 0: Hawaii beat Stanford, 23-20, on a walk-off field goal from Japan's Kansei Matsuzawa, who taught himself how to kick by watching YouTube; Kansas debuted its upgraded $450 million stadium with a 31-7 win over Fresno State. (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) ??????? London, England — Arsenal midfielder Max Dowman made his first team debut during Saturday's win over Leeds United at the tender age of 15 years and 235 days, making him the second-youngest player in Premier League history. High praise: "There is a kid here that has zero hesitation and is so convinced that at 15 he can go and deliver, which I have never witnessed in my life," said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. (Dario Belingheri/Getty Images) ?? Limone Piemonte, Italy — Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard overcame a scary crash on Sunday to win the second stage of the Vuelta a España and take the overall lead in the season's third and final Grand Tour. Sprint to the finish: Vingegaard narrowly beat Italy's Giulio Ciccone in a scintillating finish. It doesn't get much closer than this. (Rodrigo Valle/Getty Images) ?? Buenos Aires, Argentina — Argentina stunned New Zealand at the Rugby Championship for their first-ever home victory against the All Blacks. It was also just their fourth win against New Zealand in 41 official Tests dating back to 1985 — though all four have come since 2020. Meanwhile, in England… The Women's Rugby World Cup kicked off on Friday, and it's been nothing but blowouts so far. That includes England's 69-7 thrashing of the U.S., which came in front of a record-sized crowd of 42,723. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: MONDAY, AUG. 25 Venus practices ahead of her 25th U.S. Open appearance. (Robert Prange/Getty Images) ? U.S. Open, First Round | 11am ET, ESPN Venus Williams' comeback continues tonight (7pm), when the two-time U.S. Open champ faces No. 11 Karolína Muchová in her first Grand Slam in two years. At 45, she's the oldest singles player to compete at the U.S. Open since 1981. Rising star No. 22 Victoria Mboko (11am), No. 6 Madison Keys (11:30am) and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz (8:10pm) also take the court today. ? Aces at Sky | 8pm, NBA The Aces have completely turned their season around this month, rattling off 10 straight wins to climb to just half a game back of the second seed at 24-14. Three-time MVP A'ja Wilson has led the way for Vegas during this stretch, putting her in the conversation to win a fourth. More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Rays at Guardians (6:40pm, FS1) … Cleveland (64-65) and Tampa (63-67) need to string together some wins if they want to climb into the race for the final AL wild card spot. ⚽️ EPL: Newcastle vs. Liverpool (3pm, USA) … Some off-field drama surrounding this one: Newcastle's Alexander Isak is refusing to play after his club rejected a $94.5 million transfer to Liverpool. ? ALL-TIME GREATS NBA TRIVIA (Heritage Auctions) Move aside, Mickey Mantle. A one-of-a-kind Upper Deck card featuring Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant is now the most expensive sports card ever sold. Question: Kobe and MJ are fourth and fifth, respectively, on the NBA's all-time scoring list. Which three players are ahead of them? Answer at the bottom. Trivia answer: LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 26, 2025 Author Members Posted August 26, 2025 > "KPop Demon Hunters" charts four songs in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, the first time four songs from the same film soundtrack have simultaneously been in the top 10 of the chart (More) > NFL rosters must be trimmed from 90 players to the active roster max of 53 by 4 pm ET today; see tracker of roster cuts for all 32 teams (More) > Rapper Lil Nas X charged with four felonies, including battery against a police officer, following his arrest and hospitalization Thursday; he pleaded not guilty to the charges (More) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 26, 2025 Author Members Posted August 26, 2025 ? Good morning! Cal Raleigh has 50 home runs. With 30 games left. What an unbelievable season he's having. ? Tailgate playlist: Tailgate season is fast approaching, so I'm curious: What's your go-to tailgate song? In today's edition: College football crystal ball, Caitlin Clark's new logo, PGA vs. LIV money lists, Everton's new home, "IRON IN THE BLOOD," and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports… ? ICYMI headlineS ? NFL transactions: Terry McLaurin signed a three-year, $96 million deal with Washington; Trey Hendrickson got an extra $14 million on his one-year deal with Cincinnati; Cleveland traded QB Kenny Pickett to Las Vegas; teams must cut rosters down to 53 players by 4pm ET today. ⚾️ 50 for Big Dumper: Cal Raleigh hit his 50th home run on Monday. The only switch-hitter with more homers in a season? Mickey Mantle, who hit 54 in 1961 and 52 in 1956. ? Carriage dispute: It's that time of year again, as Fox and YouTube TV are at an impasse ahead of football season. If a deal isn't reached by Wednesday, channels such as Fox, FS1, and Big Ten Network would be dropped from YouTube TV's lineup. ⚽️ Liverpool wins thriller: 16-year-old substitute Rio Ngumoha scored the game-winner against Newcastle in stoppage time of his Premier League debut, as Liverpool joined Arsenal and Tottenham as the only clubs with two wins through two weeks. ? Teen sensation turns pro: Cooper Lutkenhaus — the 16-year-old who finished second in the 800m at this month's USA championships — has decided to turn pro, signing with Nike ahead of the world championships in Tokyo. ? CRYSTAL BALL COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS (Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports) The first full week of college football has arrived. But before we get to Week 1, our experts give their annual predictions. Ross Dellenger: As the SEC and Big Ten continue to grab more decision-making power in the sport's future, it's up to the ACC and Big 12 to change the trajectory of the sport. Clemson, Miami, Florida State, Baylor, Tech, Colorado... can any of them squash the "Power Two" narrative by not just beating Big Ten and SEC teams during the regular season but advancing deep into the College Football Playoff? The arc of the entire sport's future could depend on it. Nick Bromberg: Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has talked about his team being the first 16-0 program in college football history. The Tigers may not go undefeated, but they're one of the best in college football and will not only take down LSU in Week 1, but they'll beat the Longhorns in January for the national championship. Dan Wolken (new hire!): There hasn't really been a season like this one where so many of the teams we expect to compete for a national championship have QBs we haven't seen play very much. Texas, Ohio State, Georgia, Oregon and Alabama are maybe five of the most talented eight or nine teams in the country, but we really just don't know how they are going to function at the most important position on the field. Jay Busbee: Auburn is going to get a couple big unexpected wins, and Miami is going to take some ugly unexpected losses, leading to some hard questions about paying rent-a-players such massive checks. Clemson will deliver on all its preseason hype, while LSU most definitely will not, leading to Brian Kelly/hot-seat talk dominating 2026. Andy Backstrom: Penn State is trying to follow a similar blueprint as Ohio State, which followed a similar blueprint as Michigan (minus that whole sign-stealing scandal). It goes like this: Return a slew of NFL prospects who could have gone to the league, lean on a suffocating defense and pair it with a top-15 offense that pops with fireworks when it matters most. It's resulted in back-to-back national championships for the Big Ten, and I'm predicting a third is on the way. ? NIKE ATHLETE CC'S NEW LOGO (Nike) Nike unveiled Caitlin Clark's signature logo for the first time on Monday. Thoughts? "To me, this is more than just a logo, it's a dream come true. People always talk about leaving your mark on the game — and this is another way I can do that." — Clark Coming soon: The logo, with two interlocking Cs, will be on all of Clark's official merchandise through the sportswear brand, which signed her to an eight-year, $28 million deal last year. Clark's signature apparel collection will launch on Oct. 1, and her signature shoe is expected in 2026. ⛳️ TOP EARNERS PGA AND LIV: 2025 MONEY LISTS What a year. What a golfer. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images) Now that the PGA and LIV seasons have completed their respective championships, let's take a look at how much the top earners on each tour took home. PGA Tour: Scottie Scheffler's second straight monster year has put him on the precipice of history. He's now less than $2 million shy of joining Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy as the only golfers with more than $100 million in official PGA Tour winnings. Scheffler: $26.6 million Tommy Fleetwood: $18.5 million McIlroy: $17 million Russell Henley: $14.6 million J.J. Spaun: $12.9 million Justin Thomas: $10.9 million Sepp Straka: $10.7 million Ben Griffin: $10 million Patrick Cantlay: $9.4 million Justin Rose: $8.9 million Alone at the top: Scheffler's sizable lead grows even larger when accounting for all the bonuses; notably, the $23 million he pocketed by entering both the playoffs and Tour Championship as the FedEx Cup points leader. In total, he earned $49.6 million this year before endorsements; McIlroy, in second, earned $30.5 million. Niemann plays a shot at LIV Golf UK in July. (Jan Kruger/Getty Images) LIV Golf: Joaquín Niemann had quite the year, winning five of the 13 regular-season events to easily top the leaderboard. No other golfer won more than once this season. Niemann: $22.5 million Jon Rahm: $15 million Bryson DeChambeau: $11.1 million Dean Burmester: $10.5 million Sebastián Muñoz: $10 million Talor Gooch: $9.1 million Patrick Reed: $8.5 million Sergio García: $8.3 million Carlos Ortiz: $7 million Marc Leishman: $6.9 million Bonus bucks: Like the PGA Tour, LIV also gives out bonuses that don't count towards official winnings. Rahm, with no wins but seven top-five finishes, narrowly beat out Niemann to capture the $18 million prize as LIV's individual champion. Niemann earned $8 million for second place and DeChambeau took home $4 million for third. ? SNAPSHOTS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS (Gaizka Iroz/AFP via Getty Images) ?? Anglet, France — Juliette Lacome celebrates after winning Friday's annual night surfing competition at the Chambre d'Amour beach in southwestern France. (Stefan Matzke/Getty Images) ?? Munich, Germany — Harry Kane scored a hat trick in the span of just 14 minutes to power Bayern Munich's 6-0 shellacking of RB Leipzig on Friday. Not a bad way for the 34-time champs to open their latest title defense. (Michael Steele/Getty Images) ?? Lausanne, Switzerland — Here we have American pole vaulter Sam Kendricks leaping into another dimension — er, attempting to clear the bar — at last week's Diamond League event. Israel's Meital Maayan Sumkin competes in the individual ball final. (Buda Mendes/Getty Images) ?? Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — The 41st Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, the first ever held in South America, concluded Sunday after five days of competition. Germany's Darja Varfolomeev, the reigning Olympic champion, won five golds in her second straight worlds. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, AUG. 26 The Mets celebrate after thumping the Phillies, 13-3, on Monday. (Kent J. Edwards/Getty Images) ⚾️ Phillies at Mets | 7:10pm ET, TBS New York (70-61) has probably dug too deep a hole to catch Philly (76-55) atop the NL East, trailing by six games with five weeks left. But if the Mets follow Monday's win with a sweep this week they'll be just four games back, with one more four-game series still to come against their rivals. Never say never, right? ? U.S. Open, First Round | 11am, ESPN No. 2 Iga Świątek (11:30am), No. 1 Jannik Sinner (12:40pm), No. 3 Coco Gauff (7pm), No. 23 Naomi Osaka (7pm) and No. 3 Alexander Zverev (8:10pm) headline today's action as the first round wraps up in Queens. More to watch: ? WNBA: Storm at Fever (7pm, CBSSN); Mercury at Sparks (10pm, NBA) … Phoenix, Seattle and Indiana are in playoff position. Los Angeles is the first team out. ? Volleyball: USA vs. Czech Republic (8:30am, CBSSN) … Women's World Championships in Thailand. ? PREMIER LEAGUE STADIUM TRIVIA (Michael Regan/Getty Images) Everton beat Brighton on Sunday in their first league match at Hill Dickinson Stadium, the club's new $1.1 billion home. Question: What was the name of Everton's former home? (a) St. James' Park (b) Goodison Park (c) Craven Cottage (d) Stamford Bridge Answer at the bottom. ? OUT NOW NEW BOOK: "IRON IN THE BLOOD" (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) The Auburn-Alabama football rivalry is one of the fiercest and most consequential in college football, with 27 national championships (and counting) between the two Yellowhammer State rivals. A new book, IRON IN THE BLOOD, by Yahoo Sports senior writer Jay Busbee, traces the entirety of the rivalry, from the origins of both schools right on through 2025. Read an excerpt: How gambling and game-fixing allegations nearly sank Bear Bryant Trivia answer: Goodison Park (1892-2025) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 27, 2025 Author Members Posted August 27, 2025 > Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh hits MLB-leading 50th home run, joining Mickey Mantle as the only switch-hitters to hit 50 homers in a season (More) | See tracker for this season's home run leaders (More) > YouTube tops Nielsen ratings as most-watched streaming service for sixth straight month, accounting for 13.4% of all TV viewership in July (More) > The 82nd Venice Film Festival kicks off today; see preview of most anticipated films (More) | "KPop Demon Hunters" becomes Netflix's most-watched movie ever with 236 million views (More) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 28, 2025 Author Members Posted August 28, 2025 ? Good morning! USA Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley will make his picks today at 11am ET. ? Tailgate playlist: Tailgate season is fast approaching, so I'm curious: What's your go-to tailgate song? In today's edition: WPBL tryouts, MLB power rankings, WNBA power rankings, Combat U, EuroBasket tips off, perfectly-timed photo, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports… ? ICYMI headlineS ? Cutdown day: NFL rosters have officially been cut down to 53 players each. Seahawks WR Marquez-Valdes Scantling and Packers WR Mecole Hardman are among the biggest names cut. ⚾️ MLB schedule release: The 2026 MLB season will open on March 25, followed by a full slate of games on March 26, marking the earliest official Opening Day in history. ?️ Team Cadillac: Veteran drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez will return to Formula 1 next year with Cadillac, which will debut as the 11th team on the grid. ?? Captain America is back: Christian Pulisic was named to the USMNT roster for September friendlies against South Korea and Japan, returning to the squad after skipping this summer's Gold Cup. ? Coco survives: Coco Gauff overcame service struggles to beat Australia's Ajla Tomljanović, 6-4, 6-7 (7-2), 7-5, in the first round of the U.S. Open. ⚾️ WPBL A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN Players listen to coaches before taking the field during finals tryouts. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) More than 600 women participated in open tryouts this week for the soon-to-launch Women's Professional Baseball League. From Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz: For more than 25 years, Justine Siegal, the trailblazer of modern women's baseball, has been pushing her sport up the hill. That journey has pulled her all around the globe, from Cleveland to Korea, from Massachusetts to Dubai. In 2011, Siegal became the first woman to throw batting practice to an MLB team when she threw to Cleveland hitters in spring training. "It's been such a lonely path ... having done this for the last 26 years," Siegal said. But Monday at Nationals Park was a different type of day. Maybelle Blair (R) and Jeneane Lesko (L), who both played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, watch tryouts. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Perched on a panel and surrounded by peers, business partners and fellow women's baseball luminaries, Siegal could see the future she has spent her life imagining and manifesting. And, at long last, she felt a sense of peaceful belonging. "I feel like now I'm part of my family. I'm with my peers," she said. "My grandchild is going to play in this league, and I'm just so grateful. The future is very, very bright." That future began to actualize over a whirlwind weekend in Washington, where more than 600 women from 10 countries arrived for open tryouts ahead of the WPBL's inaugural season next summer. Mo'ne Davis, of Little League World Series fame, bats during tryouts. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Those hopefuls included heralded vets of the international circuit, such as Kelsie Whitmore and Japanese pitcher Ayami Sato, and Little League World Series legend Mo'ne Davis. Others, including a few women in their 40s and 50s, attended the tryout as a shot-in-the-dark bucket-list item, a chance to see how they would fare or what they have left. For many, it was the first time they had ever shared a ballfield exclusively with other women. According to Baseball for All, roughly 100,000 girls play youth baseball each year in the U.S., but only about 1,000 continue into high school ball. San Diego native Keira Izumi throws a pitch. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Participation gradually dwindles throughout Little League and then plummets once girls reach middle and high school. Many of the most talented players are incentivized to switch to softball, which offers ample travel ball and scholarship opportunities. Baseball for All — founded by Siegal in 2010 — was designed to change that. And now, Siegal's newest project, the WPBL, is meant to serve as the capstone: a league for all young girls and women to strive toward. "Parents will often tell me they had no idea how much their daughter was holding in when they were the only girl," Siegal told Yahoo Sports. "One dad said he'd never seen his girl sing [on the field], you know, until the other girls were singing." Keep reading. ⚾️ PLAYOFF PUSH MLB POWER RANKINGS (Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports) The Brewers sit atop our MLB power rankings as we enter the final month of the regular season. ? PLAYOFF PICTURE WNBA POWER RANKINGS (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports) Just two weeks remain in the WNBA regular season, and beneath the Lynx — the league's clear best team and No. 1 in our latest power rankings — chaos reigns in the final sprint to the playoffs. Where it stands: Minnesota (30-7) should lock up the No. 1 seed any day now, while the cellar-dwelling Sun, Sky and Wings have all been eliminated. But the other nine teams are all bunched up in an unusually crowded race for the final seven playoff spots. First are the four teams jockeying for the 2-5 seeds, as the Dream (24-13), Aces (25-14), Mercury (23-14) and Liberty (23-15) are separated by just 1.5 games. That group is three games clear of those fighting for the 6-8 seeds, with the Fever (20-18), Valkyries (19-18), Storm (20-19) and Sparks (17-19) separated by just two games. The Mystics (16-22) are still alive, but probably not for long. How close is that? The gap between the 2-seed Dream and 9-seed Sparks is just 6.5 games. Last year, that gap was 16 games entering the postseason, and it hasn't been closer than 12 in the last five years. Biggest upcoming games: The Aces, who already clinched the playoffs, visit the Dream tonight in a game that could determine the 2-seed. The Fever, still without Caitlin Clark, visit the Sparks on Friday as they try holding off L.A.'s push for the final spot. The Liberty, looking to defend their title, visit the Mercury on Saturday in a critical battle for the 4-seed and home-court advantage. ? GO DEEPER GOOD READS (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) ? Ross Dellenger: Money matters: How Dave Aranda, Baylor learned to adapt and embrace new era of college football Baylor resisted the intentional pay-for-play method in compensating athletes until a year ago. But their football team's NIL budget has skyrocketed, making them one of the more extreme examples of a school whose roster value has gone from a little to a lot very quickly. Could this program-wide overhaul transform the Bears into to a Big 12 champ? (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports) ? Ben Fowlkes: Welcome to Combat U, the university that put MMA on the syllabus The idea was fairly simple. Students at Sacramento State could already take classes in physical pursuits ranging from dance to golf. Why not fight sports as well? And if students who excel at NCAA sports like football and basketball can earn college scholarships for their athletic achievements, why couldn't it work the same for students who had dedicated their lives to the martial arts? Agassi and Coco Gauff play an exhibition match ahead of this year's U.S. Open. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images) ? Dan Wolken: Why tennis needs Andre Agassi in the broadcast booth Agassi's recent return to the fore after years away from the sport he once dominated is not just a welcome development but badly needed. In an era where TV executives seem to have little interest in presenting tennis beyond personality and conflict, Agassi has a natural Yoda-like ability to make the complex seem both relatable and simple. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, AUG. 27 Carlitos and his new haircut take the court again today. (Elsa/Getty Images) ? U.S. Open, Second Round | 11am ET, ESPN/ESPN+ The second round begins today with plenty of big names taking the court, including No. 7 Novak Djokovic (11:30am), No. 4 Taylor Fritz (1pm), No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz (7pm) and No. 6 Ben Shelton (8:10pm) on the men's side and 2021 champion Emma Raducanu (11am), No. 4 Jessica Pegula (1:10pm) and No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka (8:40pm) on the women's. ⚾️ Padres at Mariners | 4:10pm, MLB Seattle's Bryan Woo, 25, is a dark horse Cy Young candidate after opening the season with 25 consecutive outings of at least 6 innings pitched, and his 2.94 ERA ranks fifth in the AL. ⚽️ Leagues Cup, Semifinals | 8:30pm, Apple Inter Miami host Orlando City (8:30pm) and LA Galaxy host Seattle (10:45pm) in the Final Four. The winners advance to the title game, while also clinching spots in next year's CONCACAF Champions Cup. Is Messi playing? Lionel Messi missed Miami's quarterfinal with a minor hamstring injury, but he trained with the squad on Tuesday and hopes to play tonight. More to watch: ? WNBA: Aces at Dream (7:30pm, NBA) … Vegas (11 straight wins) can overtake Atlanta for second place with a victory. ? EuroBasket: Serbia vs. Estonia (2:15pm, DAZN) … The 42nd edition of the 24-team tournament tips off, with Nikola Jokić (Serbia) headlining the slate. ?? ACROSS THE POND EUROPE TRIVIA (Giphy) EuroBasket 2025 tips off today, with 24 European nations set to compete for continental supremacy. Group A: Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Portugal, Serbia, Turkey Group B: Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Lithuania, Montenegro, Sweden Group ? Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Spain Group ? Belgium, France, Iceland, Israel, Poland, Slovenia Question: Which country above has the largest population? Which has the smallest? Answer at the bottom. ? THROUGH THE LENS PHOTO FINISH A one-in-a-million shot of Jasmine Paolini in action at the U.S. Open. (Ray Giubilo) I know Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got engaged or whatever, but this might be the most perfectly-timed sports photograph ever taken and deserves our full attention. I may have just found my Halloween costume. Trivia answer: Germany has the largest population (84 million); Iceland has the smallest (398,000) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 29, 2025 Author Members Posted August 29, 2025 > Sixteen-year-old convicted for supporting the thwarted terror attack intended to target Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" concerts in Vienna last August (More) > World golf No. 1 Scottie Scheffler highlights 12-man US team set to compete against Europe in next month's Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York (More) > ESPN and global streamer DAZN reach multiyear agreement for DAZN to stream college football and basketball in markets across the UK, Europe, and MENA region (More) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 29, 2025 Author Members Posted August 29, 2025 ? Good morning! Keegan Bradley calling Sam Burns to tell him he made the USA Ryder Cup team is worth a watch. ? Tailgate playlist: Tailgate season is fast approaching, so I'm curious: What's your go-to tailgate song? In today's edition: An upset for the ages, Captain Keegan makes his picks, Power 4 football spending, Baltimore's unexpected ace, the 10 best college football towns, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ⛳️ Team USA: USA Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley made his six captain's picks, and he chose not to include himself. Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Young and Sam Burns will join the six automatic qualifiers next month at Bethpage. ⚾️ Ohtani's first win: Shohei Ohtani pitched a season-high five innings and struck out a season-high nine batters to record his first win as a Dodger in a 5-1 victory over the Reds. ⚽️ Messi game-winner: Lionel Messi scored twice, including the late game-winner, to lift Inter Miami past Orlando City and into the Leagues Cup final, where they'll face the Seattle Sounders. ? NFL headlines: Chiefs WR Rashee Rice was suspended six games for his role in a car crash last year; Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton signed a four-year, $100.4M extension; the Vikings reunited with WR Adam Thielen in a trade with the Panthers. ? Phoenix ownership lawsuit: Infighting among the Suns and Mercury ownership group became a legal matter on Wednesday, with two minority owners filing a lawsuit against the teams' holding company and majority owner Mat Ishbia. ⚽️ KNOCKED OUT AN UPSET FOR THE AGES Grimsby Town supporters celebrate with players after storming the pitch. (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) Imagine if Appalachian State had beaten Michigan at home. David vs. Goliath: Fourth-tier club Grimsby Town stunned Manchester United on Wednesday in the second round of the Carabao Cup, an annual competition open to all clubs in the top four tiers of English Football. Grimsby Town triumphed 12-11 on penalty kicks, setting off an epic celebration as locals stormed the pitch. Manchester United has a squad value of $1 billion, per Transfermarkt. Grimsby Town? $4.3 million. From Yahoo Sports' Jack Baer: The beauty of competitions like this is you see some of the Premier League's marquee teams sent to play in all corners of the country's soccer system, no matter how small. For reference, Grimsby Town's Blundell Park has a seating capacity of 9,052, which would be the seventh-largest stadium at the Double-A level of MLB's minor leagues. Grimsby Town's wage bill last year was roughly one-third the size of United star Jadon Sancho's salary... and half the size of United's "traveling and entertainment costs." Every player on the field for Grimsby Town will collectively make less this year than what their opponents made this week. The last word: "I'm a Man United fan so I'm half fuming, to be honest," said Grimsby goalkeeper Christy Pym after the match, tongue firmly in cheek. ? REVENUE SHARING CHARTED: POWER 4 BUDGET ALLOCATION (Opendorse) The college football revenue-sharing cap is set at $20.5 million for this season, and the Power 4 conferences are allocating their budgets in different ways, according to data from Opendorse. Spending breakdown: ACC programs are spending the most money on offense (70%), while the SEC is spending the most on defense (43%). Big 12 schools are spending the most money of any league on QBs (23.1%), and the least on the linemen who protect them (10.5%). Big Ten schools are investing heavily in WRs (16.8%) and lead the way with 2.4% of money allocated to specialists. What they're saying: "Big Ten schools aren't paying more of their budget to offensive linemen than any other conference? I don't think I can believe in anything anymore. Thanks Opendorse, for crushing my fundamental beliefs about college football." (@DylanDittrich) How much are players earning? Less than 1% of Power 4 football players are bringing in $500,000+ annually via revenue sharing and NIL deals. The vast majority (66.5%) are earning less than $10,000. ⚾️ COMEBACK STORY BALTIMORE'S UNEXPECTED ACE (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) Trevor Rogers' career resurgence has been one of the best stories of the MLB season, and not just because redemption arcs are so satisfying. To put it simply, he's been one of the best pitchers in baseball, full stop. By the numbers: The Orioles lefty has a 1.40 ERA through 13 starts, by far the best among the 133 pitchers who've thrown at least 80 innings this year. He's been even better in August, allowing exactly 1 run in all five starts while striking out 36 batters against just six walks. Rogers is just the second Oriole ever with at least six consecutive starts of six innings pitched and fewer than two earned runs allowed, joining Jim Palmer in 1978. And he's one of just three pitchers in the Integration Era (since 1947) with a sub-1.50 ERA, 70+ strikeouts and two or fewer home runs allowed in their first 13 starts of a season. The other two? Nolan Ryan (1981) and Greg Maddux (1994). Not bad. Start by start: The numbers above probably tell the story well enough. But in case they don't, just look at the stat lines from his 13 starts this year. 6.1 innings, 0 runs 2.1 innings, 3 runs (hey, nobody's perfect) 8 innings, 0 runs 5.1 innings, 2 runs 6.2 innings, 0 runs 6.2 innings, 1 run 6 innings, 2 runs 7 innings, 0 runs 8 innings, 1 run 6 innings, 1 run 7 innings, 1 run 7 innings, 1 run 7 innings, 1 run 13 starts. 13 runs. 1.40 ERA. Incredible. Rogers pitches for the Marlins at the start of last season. (Brennan Asplen/Getty Images) A comeback for the ages: In a vacuum, Rogers' season has been spectacular. Given the context of his career trajectory, it's been nothing short of stunning. Miami's 2017 first-rounder was an All-Star and ROY runner-up in 2021. But injuries and inconsistency derailed his career for the next few years, as he pitched to an unsightly 5.09 ERA in 52 starts from 2022-24. Baltimore traded for him last year, but he was sent to the minors after four terrible starts and began this season there, too. He was called up once in May, again in June, and now — thanks to his work at the Driveline pitching lab — should earn some Cy Young consideration. What to watch: Rogers takes the mound again on Saturday in San Francisco (7:15pm ET, Fox), where he'll look to close out his epic August with another gem for the Birds. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, AUG. 28 (Giphy) ? Week 1 | ESPN/BTN/FS1 The marquee matchups might not come until Saturday, but Week 1 kicks off tonight with 17 games featuring FBS teams. The headliners: No. 25 Boise State at South Florida (5:30pm ET, ESPN) Buffalo at Minnesota (8pm, FS1) Nebraska at Cincinnati (9pm, ESPN) Miami-Ohio at Wisconsin (9pm, BTN) Plus: Delaware, one of two schools transitioning from the FCS to FBS this season (along with Missouri State), hosts Delaware State (7pm, ESPN+). ? U.S. Open | 11am, ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN+ The second round concludes today. No. 1 Jannik Sinner (12:40pm) and No. 3 Alexander Zverev (7pm) headline the men's slate; No. 2 Iga Świątek (11:30am), No. 23 Naomi Osaka (12:40pm) and No. 3 Coco Gauff (7pm) headline the women's. More to watch: ? WNBA: Mystics at Liberty (7pm, Prime); Sky at Mercury (10pm, Prime) … Phoenix star Alyssa Thomas has six triple-doubles this month; no one else in WNBA history has more than four in their careers. ? EuroBasket: Slovenia vs. Poland (2:30pm, DAZN) … Lakers brass traveled to Poland to support Luka Dončić as he leads Slovenia. ⛳️ LPGA: FM Championship (8am, ESPN+; 3pm, Golf) … A stacked field competes at TPC Boston for the largest non-major purse of the season ($4.1M). ⛳️ RYDER CUP GOLF TRIVIA (Taylar Sievert/Yahoo Sports) Six of the 12 golfers on the USA Ryder Cup roster have won at least one major. Question: Can you name all six? Bonus points: How many have they each won? Answer at the bottom. ? TAILGATE HEAVEN THE 10 BEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOWNS (Found Image Holdings/Corbis via Getty Images) The 10 best college football towns in America, according to the Washington Post ($): Madison, Wisconsin Baton Rouge, Louisiana Ann Arbor, Michigan Eugene, Oregon Clemson, South Carolina Athens, Georgia South Bend, Indiana Austin, Texas Boulder, Colorado Fargo, North Dakota Food for thought: How do you decide what is and isn't a "college town"? For me, a college town must be defined by the college (culturally and economically) before anything else, which means Austin probably doesn't belong here. Solid list overall, though. Trivia answer: Scottie Scheffler (4), Collin Morikawa (2), Bryson DeChambeau (2), Justin Thomas (2), Xander Schauffele (2), J.J. Spaun (1) Correction: Yesterday's trivia answer incorrectly stated that Germany, with 84 million people, had the largest population among the countries competing in EuroBasket. It should have been Turkey, with 87 million. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 30, 2025 Author Members Posted August 30, 2025 College Football Kicks Off The 2025 college football season kicks into full swing this weekend, featuring three games between top 10 teams—the most such matchups this early in a season in the sport's history. The marquee game takes place tomorrow in Columbus, Ohio (12 pm ET, FOX), where the defending national champion No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes will face the No. 1 Texas Longhorns. At night, No. 4 Clemson hosts No. 9 LSU (7:30 pm ET, ABC), while Sunday features No. 6 Notre Dame traveling to No. 10 Miami (7:30 pm ET). The first game showcases one of the season’s top storylines—the full-time debut of Arch Manning, scion of the dynasty that includes NFL greats Peyton and Eli. Also to watch are eight-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick’s first season at North Carolina, whether Alabama can return to the playoffs, and more. Finally, tomorrow marks legendary analyst Lee Corso’s last appearance on "College GameDay." Watch his best moments here. PS—Sunday's email will explore the sport in-depth, but until then, check out all the best resources we've curated on college football. Enjoy! > Ariana Grande announces dates for her first tour in seven years (More) | Ryan Gosling, Amy Adams, and Aaron Pierre tapped to star in "Star Wars: Starfighter," set to premiere in May 2027 (More) > The 2025 US Open tennis championships continue; see latest women's bracket (More) | ... and men's bracket (More) > UEFA Champions League draw announced with the league phase for the 36-team tournament set to begin Sept. 16 (More) | Inter Miami to take on Seattle Sounders on Sunday (8 pm ET, Apple TV+, Univision) for the Leagues Cup championship (More) 1440 Society & Culture: Saturday's weekly newsletter dives into the history of fantasy football, from a game among friends to a billion-dollar industry. Subscribe here for free! Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted August 31, 2025 Author Members Posted August 31, 2025 ? Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it. Programming note: We're off for Labor Day. See you back here on Tuesday. In today's edition: Parsons to the Packers, 4 Schwarbombs, the rise of Arch Manning, flamethrowers everywhere, tailgate playlist, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ Schwarber blasts 4 HR: Kyle Schwarber became the 21st player in MLB history — and record third this season! — to hit 4 home runs in a game, adding 9 RBIs in Philly's 19-4 rout of Atlanta. The MVP contender has a career-high 49 long balls, just one shy of Cal Raleigh for the MLB lead. ? Thursday night football: No. 25 Boise State suffered a 34-7 loss to South Florida; Nebraska held on late for a 20-17 win over Cincinnati in front of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift; Michael Vick (Norfolk State) and DeSean Jackson (Delaware State) lost their college coaching debuts. ? Lifetime contract: Tennessee men's basketball coach Rick Barnes has signed a lifetime contract with the school, committing to the Volunteers for the rest of his career. ⚽️ Champions League draw: The fixtures for the 36-team league phase, which begins in two weeks, have been announced. Defending champion PSG face quite the gauntlet with Bayern, Barcelona and Tottenham among their eight-game slate. ? U.S. Open, Day 5: No. 2 Iga Świątek and No. 3 Coco Gauff both survived some uneven play to reach the third round, while Venus Williams won her first U.S. Open doubles match since 2014. ? NFL BLOCKBUSTER PARSONS TO THE PACKERS (Yahoo Sports) Micah Parsons and the Cowboys' stalemate ended Thursday with Dallas trading him to the Packers, who will make the two-time All-Pro edge rusher the highest-paid non-QB in NFL history. Packers get: Parsons, who they're signing to a four-year, $188 million deal Cowboys get: 2026 first-round pick, 2027 first-round pick, DT Kenny Clark From Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson: For more than a decade, Jerry Jones has kept upping the ante on his favorite self-proclaimed desperation. There was no amount of money the Cowboys owner wouldn't pay to win a Super Bowl. The size of that check would be embarrassing. It would be obscene. If cash guaranteed it, he'd give up "two-thirds, or a third, whatever percentage" of the franchise's valuation. He'd say it with tears in his eyes or a sly grin on his face, all to convince an audience of one or assure a Netflix viewership of millions — or maybe just sell the dream to himself. "I'd do anything known to man to win a Super Bowl," Jones once said. "That's a fact." On Thursday, it became a myth. ? FIRST FAMILY OF FOOTBALL THE RISE OF ARCH MANNING (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) Arch Manning's moment has finally arrived, and the setting couldn't be more fitting. Tomorrow afternoon, he'll lead No. 1 Texas against No. 3 Ohio State in one of the most-hyped Week 1 games in recent memory. From Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger: Within the halls here at the University of Texas football facility, one particular player moves about like all of the others. He jokes, horse-plays, fist bumps, listens attentively, celebrates on the practice field, even dances — all the things you'd imagine a 21-year-old college kid might do. He eats Tex-Mex often, wakesurfs on Lake Travis, dines at Chipotle upwards of three times a week and occasionally hits the golf links. Arch Manning is just one of the guys, whether you want to believe it or not. Manning warms up before a game last season. (Tim Warner/Getty Images) "I don't think he walks around with a hoodie with his name on the back so everyone knows who he is," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. "He'd much rather be unassuming." For much of his career, even during his junior high days as a young superstar in New Orleans, Arch has, whether on his own or through a family directive, dodged the spotlight at every turn. He's evaded the cameras, avoided social media and escaped any other real attention — politely, of course. After all, he's the grandson of the patriarch of not only one of football's First Families but the truest Southern Gentleman you'll come upon: Archie Manning. No, sir. Yes, sir. Please and thank you. It is the Manning Way. And so, too, at least for Arch, is side-stepping any and all attention. Arch and his family rejected college scholarship offers made to him until he was deep into his high school career. Coaches extending an offer would often receive a patented line: "There is no offer to give because there's no offer to receive." Manning addresses reporters during SEC Media Days. (Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Arch's college quarterback career truly begins this weekend in one of football's greatest settings, on the road, against the defending national champion Buckeyes, in a top-five tilt televised nationally. Good luck avoiding the spotlight. "I tell him all the time, 'You're not really a quarterback until they boo you,'" Sarkisian said. "When 105,000 boo you, then you know you've arrived." Ohio Stadium, the third-largest football venue in the country, holds 102,780. Close enough. ⚾️ CHART DU JOUR FLAMETHROWERS EVERYWHERE (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports) Touching 95 mph was once the mark of a flamethrower. Sure, it wasn't unheard of, but for every Bob Feller and Walter Johnson there were scores of pitchers who sat in the low-90s at best. Now? 95 is the average. Coming in hot: For the first time in MLB history, right-handed pitchers are averaging 95 mph on their four-seam fastballs. Lefties are a few ticks behind at 93 mph.* In 2008 (the year pitch-tracking debuted), just 16 MLB pitchers averaged 95+ mph on their fastball. This year? 141 pitchers average that number, a 781% increase over the span of 17 years. *Why does the average righty throw harder than the average lefty? The most likely explanation is that being a left-handed pitcher is inherently a competitive advantage, and thus they don't need speed to stand out. Instead, they often lean in to the stereotype of being "crafty," using tools other than velocity to retire hitters. ? VIEWING GUIDE WEEKEND WATCHLIST (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports) ? Week 1 | Fri-Sun Week 1 of the college football season is upon us, and Saturday's slate is stacked with three matchups between top-10 opponents and 10 games between power conference teams: Auburn at Baylor (Fri. 8pm ET, Fox) Georgia Tech at Colorado (Fri. 8pm, ESPN) No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State (Sat. 12pm, Fox) Syracuse at No. 24 Tennessee (Sat. 12pm, ABC) No. 8 Alabama at Florida State (Sat. 3:30pm, ABC) No. 9 LSU at No. 4 Clemson (Sat. 7:30pm, ABC) California at Oregon State (Sat. 10:30pm, ESPN) Utah at UCLA (Sat. 11pm, Fox) Virginia Tech at No. 13 South Carolina (Sun. 3pm, ESPN) No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 10 Miami (Sun. 7:30pm, ABC) Plus: There's an 11th power conference matchup on Monday when UNC hosts TCU (8pm, ESPN) in Bill Belichick's college football coaching debut. ? U.S. Open | Fri-Sun, ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN+ As the first week of competition comes to an end, just 32 men and 32 women remain in the draw. Today's best third-round matches include No. 7 Novak Djokovic vs. Cameron Norrie (7pm) and No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 31 Leylah Fernandez (7pm). Tomorrow's include No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 27 Denis Shapovalov and No. 15 Daria Kasatkina vs. No. 23 Naomi Osaka. ⚽️ Liverpool vs. Arsenal | Sun. 11:30am, USA The Reds and Gunners finished 1-2 last year in the Premier League, are co-favorites to win this year's title and are both unbeaten so far this season. This is gonna be good. ⚽️ Seattle Sounders vs. Inter Miami | Sun. 8pm, Apple Two years ago, Lionel Messi led Miami to the Leagues Cup title just one month after joining the club. Now, he's led them back to the final where they'll try to become the tournament's first two-time champs. ? PLL Semifinals | Mon. 12pm, ESPN+/ESPN2 The final four take the field on Labor Day in Philly, where the Philadelphia Waterdogs and New York Atlas (12pm, ESPN+) battle for one spot in the title game while the California Redwoods and Denver Outlaws (3pm, ESPN2) fight for the other. ?️ Dutch Grand Prix | Sun. 9am, ESPN F1 returns from its mid-season break after a month away. McLaren's Oscar Piastri (284 points) and Lando Norris (275) are nearly 100 points clear of four-time defending champion Max Verstappen (187), and they've finished 1-2 in four straight races. ? Darlington Raceway | Sun. 6pm, USA The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, a 10-race competition featuring the top 16 drivers, begins this weekend in South Carolina. Kyle Larson (+425 at BetMGM), Ryan Blaney (+425), Denny Hamlin (+450) and Christopher Bell (+475) are favored to win the title, but it's anyone's trophy following one of the most wide-open seasons in recent memory. More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Braves at Phillies (Fri. 6:45pm, Apple; Sun. 7pm, ESPN); Brewers at Blue Jays (Sun. 1:30pm, MLB) … First place in the AL and NL meet in Toronto. ? WNBA: Liberty at Mercury (Sat. 10pm, NBA); Fever at Valkyries (Sun. 8:30pm, NBA) … New York and Phoenix are battling for the 4-seed and home-court advantage. ⚽️ MLS: Cincinnati vs. Philadelphia (Sat. 7:30pm, Apple); LAFC vs. San Diego (Sun. 10:45pm, Apple) … First vs. second in the East and a SoCal rivalry in the West. ⛳️ LPGA: FM Championship (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/Golf) … There's a three-way tie atop the leaderboard at TPC Boston after the first round. ? EuroBasket: Group Stage (Fri-Sun, DAZN) … Scores, schedule and standings. ? Banana Ball: Savannah Bananas vs. Texas Tailgaters (Fri-Sat. 7pm, truTV) … At Pittsburgh's PNC Park. ? IndyCar: Music City Grand Prix (Sun. 2pm, Fox) … Season finale. ⚾️ SCHWARBOMBS MLB TRIVIA (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) Kyle Schwarber is up to 333 home runs for his career, which he's spent with four teams. Question: Can you name all four? Answer at the bottom. ? PREGAME SOUND TAILGATE PLAYLIST (Giphy) Football has returned, which means tailgating parties are back on the menu. Here are some songs to add to your playlist, courtesy of Yahoo Sports AM readers. Top 25: "Thunderstruck" — AC/DC "Mr. Brightside" — The Killers "Return of the Mack" — Mark Morrison "Seven Nation Army" — The White Stripes "Baba O'Riley" — The Who "Parking Lot Party" — Lee Brice "Ants Marching" — Dave Matthews Band "Grindin'" — Clipse "We Will Rock You" — Queen "Shut Up and Dance" — Walk The Moon "Sandstorm" — Darude "White Horse" — Chris Stapleton "Welcome to the Jungle" — Guns N' Roses "Sweet Home Alabama" — Lynyrd Skynyrd "Enter Sandman" — Metallica "Chicken Fried" — Zac Brown Band "Take Me Home, Country Roads" — John Denver "Let's Go" — Trick Daddy "I'm Shipping up to Boston" — Dropkick Murphys "The Boys Are Back In Town" — Thin Lizzy "The Nights" — Avicii "Red Solo Cup" — Toby Keith "Kickstart My Heart" — Mötley Crüe "Right Now" — Van Halen "The Pretender" — Foo Fighters Have fun this weekend! See ya Tuesday. Trivia answer: Cubs, Nationals, Red Sox, Phillies Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted September 2, 2025 Author Members Posted September 2, 2025 ? NFL retiree poll: Pain but no regrets Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios Half of all NFL players who played in the 1988 season report experiencing pain every day — roughly twice as much as other men their age, Axios' Tina Reed writes from a new ESPN/KFF Survey. But 90% said they'd play again if given a choice. Why it matters: With the start of the NFL season around the corner, the findings are a reminder of the physical and mental health toll associated with the game. 69% reported experiencing pain in the past three months, compared with 33% of men aged 55 to 75. 55% said they experienced confusion or memory loss in the past 12 months that is happening more often or getting worse, compared with 16% of other men. The other side: The players said the game has positively impacted their social lives, relationships, financial situations and employment opportunities. Explore the data ... More from ESPN. ? What's next: The NFL season kicks off Thursday evening when the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, face the Dallas Cowboys. Week 1 schedule. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted September 2, 2025 Author Members Posted September 2, 2025 > Novak Djokovic advances to US Open quarterfinals, extending his record of reaching 64 Grand Slam quarters (More) | No. 23 Naomi Osaka upsets No. 3 Coco Gauff to advance to the quarterfinals; see latest women's bracket (More) > Mark Knoller, longtime White House correspondent for CBS, dies at age 73 (More) | Lee Roy Jordan, five-time NFL Pro Bowler, dies at age 84 (More) | Randy Boone, actor best known for starring role on "The Virginian," dies at age 83 (More) > College football week one wraps, highlighted by No. 3 Ohio State topping No. 1 Texas and No. 8 Alabama falling to unranked Florida State (More) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted September 2, 2025 Author Members Posted September 2, 2025 ? Good morning! Welcome back. In today's edition: Chapel Bill (plus more from Week 1), Osaka upsets Gauff, Sounders win another trophy, MLB playoff picture, Baker's Dozen, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ? U.S. Open update: Naomi Osaka upset Coco Gauff to advance to the quarterfinals; Venus Williams is into the doubles quarterfinals; Jannik Sinner destroyed Alexander Bublik for his 25th consecutive win at a hard court major. ⚽️ Sounders add more hardware: Seattle smacked Inter Miami, 3-0, in front of a sold-out crowd on Sunday to win the 2025 Leagues Cup and become the first MLS club to claim every possible North American trophy. ⛳️ Team Europe is set: Luke Donald announced his captain's picks for Europe's Ryder Cup team. The only roster difference from two years ago? Rasmus Højgaard is now on the team in place of his identical twin brother Nicolai. ? Racing roundup: McLaren's Oscar Piastri won the Dutch GP to extend his lead atop F1; Chase Briscoe won at Darlington to open the NASCAR playoffs; Josef Newgarden won the IndyCar finale, marking his 11th straight season with a victory. ? PLL semifinals: The New York Atlas beat the Philadelphia Waterdogs, 13-11, to advance to the PLL Championship. They'll play the Denver Outlaws, who dispatched the California Redwoods, 12-7. ? CHAPEL BILL BELICHICK ERA STARTS WITH A DUD Belichick exits the field after the loss. (Chris Seward/AP Photo) The Belichick era got off to a horrid start on Monday night in Chapel Hill, where the Tar Heels suffered a blowout 48-14 loss to TCU. From Yahoo Sports' Dan Wolken: Since he took the job last December, having been thoroughly rejected by the NFL despite his six Super Bowl Rings, the football world has been wondering what 73-year-old Bill Belichick would look like coaching a college team. It subsequently became a nine-month journey of interest in his personal life, a book tour, a series of awkward interviews and a branding initiative led by his 24-year-old girlfriend. What we didn't hear much about was the football team he had to coach. Maybe now we know why. Tar Heels fans exit their seats during the third quarter. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) North Carolina's 48-14 drubbing at the hands of TCU was evidence that $10 million for the most accomplished coach in the history of the sport may not go as far as it used to. In the NFL, we can debate where Belichick ranks among names like Vince Lombardi, Bill Walsh and Chuck Noll. As a college coach, Belichick's debut was more in the realm of his former Patriots assistant Charlie Weis, who once described his recruiting pitch at Kansas thusly: "Have you looked at that pile of crap out there?" Belichick, of course, is too buttoned up to provide such a juicy sound bite. But his assessment of the proceedings Monday was direct and in character. "They just outplayed us, they outcoached us and they were better than we were. That's all there is to it," Belichick said, speaking in front of a backdrop of balloons that seemed far too festive for the occasion. "They did a lot more things right than we did. Give them credit for being the better team." Tar Heels players run out onto the field. (Nicholas Faulkner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) While it would be imprudent to declare the Belichick experiment a failure already, you get this kind of honeymoon only once. As kickoff approached Monday, idyllic Chapel Hill looked like something it has never been: A real college football town with packed tailgates and bars, Tar Heel celebrities like Michael Jordan and Mia Hamm jetting in to be part of the atmosphere and ESPN treating the game like a national event. Instead, it quickly turned into a social media pile-on. After scoring easily on their first scripted drive to take a 7-0 lead, the Tar Heels played like they have the potential to end up one of the worst teams in FBS. ? SNAPSHOTS IN PHOTOS: WEEK 1 BLOCKBUSTERS (Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Did you enjoy the playoff games in Columbus, Clemson, Miami and Tallahassee? That's what they felt like. Big brands. Home stadiums. Exciting atmospheres. Perhaps we could see it all again come December. Columbus, Ohio — The Arch Manning era got off to a rocky start, as No. 3 Ohio State's defense shut down the top-ranked Longhorns in a 14-7 victory, making Texas the first preseason No. 1 team to lose its opener since 1990. Sportsbooks make bank: BetMGM's top five Week 1 bets by total money wagered — led by Texas +1 — all went the way of the house in a brutal weekend for the betting public. QB Garrett Nussmeier celebrates after a TD. (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Clemson, South Carolina — No. 9 LSU took down No. 4 Clemson, 17-10, for their first Week 1 win since 2019, when they went 15-0 en route to a national title. Could this finally be the year Brian Kelly and the Tigers break through in a crowded SEC? Heisman Watch: LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier (28/38, 230 yards, TD) leapfrogged Manning to become the new Heisman favorite (+650 at BetMGM), just ahead of South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers (+700). Manning fell from +500 to +1600. (Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Miami, Florida — No. 10 Miami hung on to beat No. 4 Notre Dame, 27-24, thanks to a clutch 47-yard field goal from newcomer Carter Davis with just over a minute left. Highlight reel: CJ Daniels gave Miami the lead going into halftime with an incredible one-handed catch, pictured above. (Butch Dill/Getty Images) Tallahassee, Florida — Fans stormed the field after unranked Florida State stunned No. 8 Alabama, 31-17, in convincing fashion. The Seminoles went 2-10 last season and entered as 14-point underdogs. Trouble in Tuscaloosa? A mere 14 games into the post-Nick Saban era, Alabama football is in crisis. That's already four losses as a double-digit favorite under head coach Kalen DeBoer. ? STATS DU JOUR BY THE NUMBERS (Jason Mowry/Getty Images) ? 6-for-6 Lee Corso went out on top, going a perfect 6-for-6 with his picks on the final "College GameDay" show of his legendary career. With an average audience of 3.5 million viewers on ESPN, Corso's highly-anticipated finale was the most-watched edition of "GameDay" ever. ⚽️ $176 million Liverpool finally reached a deal to sign Newcastle forward Alexander Isak for a $176 million fee, breaking the Premier League transfer record set earlier this summer when they signed Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for $153 million. ⚾️ 306 feet Trevor Story's bizarre home run on Monday afternoon at Fenway Park traveled just 306 feet — off the right fielder's glove and into Boston's famed "Pesky Pole" — making it the second-shortest non-inside-the-park home run of the Statcast era (since 2015). ⛳️ 24 winners Miranda Wang (-20) won the FM Championship by a stroke over world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul, continuing a remarkable streak on the LPGA Tour where there still hasn't been a repeat winner this season. 23 tournaments, 24 winners (one event featured teams). ? 4th triple-double Luka Dončić put up 26 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists on Sunday in Slovenia's win over Belgium, notching the fourth triple-double in EuroBasket history. The other three: Poland's Mateusz Ponitka (2022), Romania's Rareș Mandache (2017) and Croatia's Toni Kukoč (1995). ⚾️ HOME STRETCH MLB PLAYOFF PICTURE (David Heringer/Yahoo Sports) The final month of the MLB regular season is upon us. Here's how the playoff picture is shaping up as September gets underway. AL East: Blue Jays (79-59) … Yankees (76-61), Red Sox (77-62) Central: Tigers (80-59) West: Astros (76-62) … Mariners (73-65), Rangers (72-67) Wild card: Yankees (76-61), Red Sox (77-62), Mariners (73-65) … Rangers (72-67), Royals (70-67), Guardians (68-68), Rays (68-69) NL East: Phillies (80-58) … Mets (74-64) Central: Brewers (85-54) … Cubs (79-59) West: Dodgers (78-59) … Padres (76-62) Wild card: Cubs (79-59), Padres (76-62), Mets (74-64) … Reds (70-68), Giants (69-69), Diamondbacks (68-71), Cardinals (68-71) ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, SEPT. 2 (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) ? U.S. Open, Day 10 | ESPN The men's and women's quarterfinals begin today. Men: No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, who has yet to drop a set, faces No. 20 Jiri Lehecka (12:40pm); No. 4 Taylor Fritz hopes to beat No. 7 Novak Djokovic (8:10pm) for the first time in 11 tries. Women: No. 4 Jessica Pegula, a New York native, faces Barbora Krejčíková (11:30am); No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, seeking her fifth straight Grand Slam semifinal appearance, faces Markéta Vondroušová (7pm). ⚾️ Yankees at Astros | 8:10pm TBS Two of the game's best lefties — Max Fried (14-5, 3.06 ERA) and Framber Valdez (12-7, 3.18 ERA) — take the mound in Houston for a pair of likely playoff teams. More to watch: ? WNBA: Fever at Mercury (10pm, NBA) … Phoenix (25-14) already clinched the playoffs; Indiana (21-19) would be the last team in if the season ended today. ? EuroBasket: Group Stage (DAZN) … Giannis Antetokounmpo's Greece (8am) and Luka Dončić's Slovenia (11am) both take the floor. ⚾️ BRONX BOMBERS MLB TRIVIA (Justin Casterline/Getty Images) Aaron Judge's 43rd home run of the season was the 358th of his career, tying Yogi Berra for the fifth-most ever by a Yankee. Question: Which four Yankees have more? Answer at the bottom. ? BAKER'S DOZEN TOP PLAYS OF THE WEEKEND ? CJ Daniels!!! ⚽️ Unreal hat trick ? Ridiculous grab ? OBJ impression ? How'd she do that?! ⚾️ Elly is Superman ⚽️ Incredible defense ? Alcaraz being Alcaraz ⚽️ Dominik Szoboszlai! ? Xander gets fancy ⚾️ PCA tracks it down ⚾️ Kwan lays out ? Sinner being Sinner Watch all 13. Trivia answer: Babe Ruth (659 HR), Mickey Mantle (536), Lou Gehrig (493), Joe DiMaggio (361) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted September 3, 2025 Author Members Posted September 3, 2025 > French actor Gérard Depardieu to face criminal trial over alleged rape accusations from an actress in 2018; Depardieu was found guilty in May of sexually assaulting two women in a separate case (More) > George Raveling, basketball Hall of Fame coach and longtime Nike exec, dies of cancer at age 88 (More) | Ohio State tops college football AP poll after Week One, with Penn State and LSU rounding out the top three (More) > "Call of Duty" live-action film adaptation in the works at Paramount; the video game franchise has sold 500 million copies worldwide and brought in over $30B in revenue (More) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.